The United States has suspended certain technology exports to China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer COMAC, including jet engines critical to the development of its C919 passenger aircraft, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The move marks a fresh escalation in the ongoing technological and trade tensions between the two countries.
The C919, China’s flagship single-aisle jet designed to compete with Boeing and Airbus models, relies heavily on foreign components—most notably the LEAP-1C engines developed by a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran. While COMAC assembles the aircraft in China, the country has yet to develop a fully indigenous commercial jet engine capable of matching Western technology.
According to sources cited by the New York Times, the decision to suspend export licenses was linked to Beijing’s recent restrictions on exporting critical minerals to the United States. The U.S. Commerce Department confirmed to Reuters that it is currently reviewing the export of strategic technologies to China and has in some cases suspended existing licenses or imposed new requirements.
Aviation components were among the sectors affected, according to three people familiar with the matter. COMAC has not issued a public response, while a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Washington condemned the U.S. move as an abuse of national security powers and an act of economic suppression.
As of now, 18 C919 aircraft are operational, flying domestic routes within mainland China and Hong Kong. The aircraft entered commercial service in 2023, following safety certification in 2022. GE was first authorized to supply the engines in 2014, with further approvals under the Trump administration in 2020.
The latest development signals growing concern in Washington over China’s ambitions to build a self-sufficient aerospace industry while also retaliating against perceived economic coercion from Beijing.
