By Alison Sider and Ted Mann
The Trump administration threatened Wednesday to bar mainland
Chinese airlines from flying to and from the U.S. starting later
this month, saying Beijing has failed to approve resumption of
these routes by U.S. carriers.
The threat of a ban was the latest sign of souring U.S.-China
relations that are at their worst in more than three decades.
Some U.S. airlines have sought to resume service to China this
month after suspending flying there earlier this year, as the
coronavirus pandemic took hold.
The U.S. Transportation Department, led by Secretary Elaine
Chao, said Wednesday that the Civil Aviation Administration of
China hasn't approved requests by United Airlines Holdings Inc. and
Delta Air Lines Inc. to resume flights. The DOT accused China of
violating an agreement that governs air travel between the two
countries.
The transportation agency said it would reconsider its planned
ban, if Chinese regulators adjust their policies to allow U.S.
carriers to return. "Our overriding goal is not the perpetuation of
this situation, but rather an improved environment wherein the
carriers of both parties will be able to exercise fully their
bilateral rights," the DOT's order said. "Should the CAAC adjust
its policies to bring about the necessary improved situation for
U.S. carriers, the Department is fully prepared to revisit the
action it has announced in this order."
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said Thursday that it
would permit foreign airlines that aren't currently able to operate
flights to China to fly one route a week, starting Monday. Under
the previous rules, the only U.S. planes permitted to fly to China
were those carrying cargo.
Chinese carriers continued to fly passengers between the U.S.
and China even after U.S. carriers had stopped flying in February
and March, albeit at reduced levels. Currently four Chinese
airlines-- Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines Co., Xiamen
Airlines and China Eastern Airlines Corp.--operate scheduled
passenger flights between the two countries, the Transportation
Department said. Other Chinese carriers that were planning to add
flights in the coming months, according to filings with the
Transportation Department, would be barred from doing so under the
order.
The order blocking Chinese carriers is set to go into effect
June 16 unless revoked. President Trump could opt to put it into
effect sooner. A White House spokesman declined to comment on
whether the president would do so. The order affects only mainland
Chinese carriers, not Hong Kong carriers, a spokesman for the
Transportation Department said.
Airline access joins a lengthening list of sore spots in
U.S.-China relations that continue to spiral toward open
across-the-board rivalry. While both sides struck a trade deal that
promises to boost Chinese purchases of U.S. farm products, many
other business issues--including market access, investment and
technology--have become points of contention.
The airline issue strikes at a central tenet of the Trump
administration's China policy--the need for reciprocity in
relations that the administration says have been tilted in
Beijing's favor. As a result, both governments have expelled
reporters from the other's country, and the Trump administration
last week said it is scrutinizing Chinese firms listed on U.S.
stock markets.
A senior administration official said Wednesday that while the
move on airlines wouldn't have much practical impact on travel,
with most flights flying at minimal capacity, the threat
demonstrated the Trump administration's focus on reciprocity in its
dealings with China. "If they keep escalating, we're going to keep
escalating," this official said.
At the outset of the year, U.S. and Chinese airlines operated
325 weekly flights between the two countries. In late January as
the new coronavirus had started to spread, the Trump administration
imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have been in
China, but it didn't halt flying between the two countries. By
mid-February, there were about 20 weekly flights, all operated by
Chinese carriers.
Meanwhile, China set limits on international service for Chinese
carriers and for foreign airlines flying to the country in
March.
The DOT has argued that the limits effectively keep U.S.
airlines out, since they are based on scheduled flying levels in
mid-March--after U.S. airlines had already suspended their flights
to China because of growing virus fears.
Now, U.S. carriers are slowly beginning to expand their
international flying. Delta had applied to start flying to China
again June 1, but its plans have been delayed by the regulatory
limbo. Now, the carrier said, it hopes to fly to Shanghai via Seoul
from Detroit and Seattle in the second half of June, subject to
government approval. United has said it would restart three China
routes June 15, if regulators approve.
Delta on Wednesday said it supported the U.S. government's
actions, and United said it looked forward to resuming flights when
the regulatory issues are resolved.
Airlines for America, a trade association, said the DOT's order
will protect the rights of U.S. carriers and "ensure fair and equal
opportunity for passenger airlines with respect to service to and
from China."
The dispute over resuming flights has been ramping up for weeks.
The U.S. government has repeatedly raised its objections with
Chinese authorities, including in a May 14 call, according to the
DOT order. In a letter to the DOT last week, Chinese aviation
officials said they didn't believe they were violating the
agreement between the two countries and didn't say when they would
revise their order regarding U.S. airlines' flights.
In the order on Wednesday, the agency said it would impose
further limits on charter flights by Chinese carriers to repatriate
Chinese citizens stuck abroad. The agency said it had "learned
through diplomatic channels" that Chinese airlines could be using
such flights to circumvent limits on scheduled service.
The U.S. and China have been engaged in tit-for-tat conflicts
over everything from trade policy to conspiracy theories over the
origins of the new coronavirus.
Momentum toward a larger trade deal has been slowed by the
coronavirus, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan before
exploding into a global pandemic. The pandemic is a new topic of
dispute between the nations.
Mr. Trump has blamed China for a slow public response to the
virus, and his administration has publicly said it was
investigating theories that the virus escaped from a Chinese lab in
the city.
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry tweeted that the
virus had actually been brought to China by the U.S. military, a
post flagged by the social media service as suspect.
Neither of the dueling origin stories for the virus has been
substantiated.
In recent days, Chinese state media has played up images of the
domestic unrest in U.S. cities, including Mr. Trump's decision to
forcibly clear peaceful demonstrators against police violence from
a public park outside the White House.
Xiao Xiao
in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com and Ted Mann at
ted.mann@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 04, 2020 00:16 ET (04:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.