A few days ago, China's three major airlines signed "epic-level" orders with European Airbus, purchasing 292 aircraft at once.
Regarding the "big deal" of Chinese airlines, Airbus cannot hide its joy, claiming that the Chinese aviation market is actively recovering and is prosperous.
Some people are happy and some are worried. Regarding this "epic" order, Boeing Company expressed great disappointment and complained about the US government.
Both Boeing and Airbus are aircraft manufacturing giants with long-standing reputations in the industry. The reasons why China's three major airlines choose Airbus instead of Boeing are mainly due to the following reasons.
First, product quality
As a convenient means of transportation, aircraft safety is the first factor. If there are problems with product quality, it can easily cause air crashes. This is something that neither passengers nor airlines want to see, so when choosing an aircraft When flying, the safety of the aircraft must first be considered.
Although Boeing is famous far and wide, the quality of its products cannot be complimented. The air crashes that have occurred in recent years are basically related to Boeing aircraft.
In March 2014, a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had an accident. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. They passed away forever. This is the Malaysia Airlines MH370 incident that shocked China and the world. The plane that happened to be involved in the accident happened to be a Boeing 777 aircraft.
In October 2018, an Indonesian Airlines flight had an air crash. In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight had an air crash. Both of the planes involved were Boeing MAX series aircraft, killing a total of 346 people. Since then, the aircraft has been grounded globally.
In March this year, a plane crash occurred on China Eastern Airlines, killing more than 130 people. The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China and airlines put the safety of passengers’ lives first, and of course they must choose aircraft with high safety.
2. Geopolitical differences
In addition to product quality problems, another reason why Boeing lost its "epic" order from China is related to geopolitical differences.
Because the U.S. government regards China as its biggest competitor and suppresses China in all aspects, Boeing has also been involved.
Trump After the Sino-US trade war started, Boeing's aircraft were restricted from being exported to China, thus losing the Chinese aviation market.
After Biden came to power, the United States still regarded China as the "number one challenge" and suppressed China in many aspects. This greatly affected the normal trade between China and the United States, and it was difficult for Boeing to return to the Chinese market.
Boeing is open for business, so it is naturally unwilling to give up China as its "big customer". However, the U.S. government makes obstacles at every turn and even attempts to "decouple" from the Chinese economy. This has little impact on U.S. politicians, but for U.S. companies such as Boeing, this is tantamount to cutting off one of their financial avenues and causing them heavy losses. .
The United States is Boeing's largest market, and China is the second largest market. If it continues to cooperate with Chinese airlines, Boeing will definitely make a profit. According to the company's forecast, China's aviation market is in strong demand and the market is in a rapidly rising stage. It is expected that by 2040, there will be a need for 8,700 new aircraft with a value of up to US$1.47 trillion.
Unfortunately, Boeing has been cheated by the US government and has been alienated by Chinese airlines. The US government is typical of shooting itself in the foot.
As Boeing's old rival, Europe's Airbus is the big winner. Not only did it obtain "epic-level" orders and secure its foothold in the Chinese aviation market, it also gained the upper hand in the competition with Boeing.
As the British " Financial Times " said, for the two major aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, China's growing market is crucial.
In addition, China's three major airlines signed "epic-level" orders with European Airbus, which will also be of great benefit to promoting China-Europe relations, because it will make Europeans realize that decoupling from China is harmful to all. There are benefits, but strengthening cooperation with China has all the benefits and no harm. Therefore, when the United States woos Europe to suppress China, they will be more cautious about their attitude towards China for their own interests.
In order to continue to dream of becoming a "world hegemon", the U.S. government used a series of methods to suppress China and tried to "decouple" from China. However, in the end, it was all in vain, failing to prevent China's rise and hurting its own companies. .
It is easy for anti-China politicians in the United States to shout "decoupling" and just use their words, but it is extremely painful for capital to "decouple" from China. To regain the recognition of China, a major customer, Boeing must not only win people's trust in product quality , and more importantly, to prevent China and the United States from "decoupling" and urge the Biden administration to engage in "productive dialogue" with China.
