China may take punitive measures including reducing US flights to the country and restricting its airspace, but it runs the risk of exacerbating the trade war
Beijing has a raft of measures it can take to punish US airlines if they do not remove references to Taiwan as a country on their websites by the deadline on Wednesday, as it walks a fine line to avoid exacerbating the trade war with Washington, analysts say.
Punitive actions could include reducing US flights to China and restricting Chinese airspace, but in doing so Beijing would run the risk of worsening its relations with Washington.
Major US carriers – including United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta – are among the six holdouts of 44 foreign airlines asked by the Chinese civil aviation authority in April to remove wording suggesting Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau were countries independent from China.
The companies that have not yet done so were given until Wednesday to comply, after applying for an extension. Washington has been negotiating with Beijing over its demands on behalf of American, Delta and United. The White House earlier asked its airlines not to comply with the “Orwellian nonsense” of China’s request.
“We are reviewing the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s request and will remain in close conversation with the US government throughout this process,” a Delta spokesman said in a statement over the weekend.
On Tuesday, China said there would be “no room for negotiation” in its demand. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing hoped the US government would urge businesses to follow its requirements. He did not specify how China would punish defiant carriers, saying only that it would “wait and see”.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island views itself as a sovereign nation and is a self-ruling democracy.
The imminent deadline on American airlines adds to an already tense situation, as China and the US spar over trade, with billions in tariffs levied on both sides and no end to the conflict in sight. The Wednesday cut-off is also the final deadline for the Chinese government to approve American chip maker Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP Semiconductors, a long-delayed deal believed to be caught up in the trade spat.
