Reuters reported that the US Department of Commerce is preparing to tighten license approvals for exporting aircraft parts and aviation hydraulic fluid to China, using them as leverage in trade negotiations.
On October 1, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that over recent weeks the U.S. Department of Commerce has slowed approvals of export licenses for aviation parts to China, restricting the number of parts that COMAC is allowed to import in order to prevent stockpiling, hoping to trade this for concessions on rare earths and other issues.
In 2020, China was designated as a foreign adversary by the U.S. Department of Commerce under an executive order, subjecting transactions involving information and communication technology and services to special scrutiny.