Boeing's CEO warned China that if the planes were not accepted, Boeing would stop manufacturing aircraft for China. Before the words had even left his mouth, China's counterattack was already on its way!

Recently, a report from The Wall Street Journal caught widespread attention. The CEO of Boeing openly issued a warning, claiming that if China did not accept the aircraft in the future, Boeing would stop producing aircraft for China and would instead resell these planes to other buyers in demand.

The report even argued that if Boeing stopped delivering aircraft to China, it would "strike" China, as China is almost entirely dependent on Boeing and Airbus of Europe for commercial aircraft with airworthiness certificates capable of flying abroad.

When he said something like "stop production if not received," he was not pressuring customers but admitting to the world: America's industrial foundation is almost gone.

China's move to suspend the acceptance of Boeing aircraft was seemingly a trade countermeasure but actually marked the tip of the iceberg for the restructuring of the global industrial chain.

Boeing's predicament is more severe than it appears. The 10 finished but undeliverable 737 MAX aircraft stacked at the Zhoushan factory are like specimens nailed to the pillar of shame, exposing the fatal flaw in American industry.

Each of these aircraft costs skyrocketed from $110 million due to tariffs to $230 million. Chinese airlines cannot afford them even if they want to, let alone the fact that the quoted price for C919, a comparable aircraft, is only $90 million.

Boeing now resembles an obstinate old man abandoned by the times, holding a sky-high bill while failing to see the fire raging in his own backyard—China supplies 70% of Boeing's components, from titanium alloy bodies to rudders. A month's interruption in supply could halt production at Seattle factories.

This threat of having one's supply chain held by others is more unsettling for Boeing than tariffs.

China's counterattack was impressively precise. Suspending aircraft deliveries was just the first step; tightening rare earth exports was the real knockout blow.

American military-industrial complexes are now panicking. The inventory of turbine blades for F-47 sixth-generation fighters can only last six months, and Pentagon reports read like doomsday warnings.

What’s worse, they are pulling Airbus along to perform a duet. Suddenly, the Tianjin final assembly line received a 300-aircraft order for A320neo, clearly signaling to Boeing that the Chinese market is not exclusive to them.

This combination of punches caused Boeing's market value to evaporate by $4 billion daily, but what truly matters is that investors are voting with their feet—after all, who would bet on a company losing both markets and supply?

The rise of domestically produced large aircraft has torn apart the myth of "irreplaceable technology." The orders for C919 have surged to 1,500, with a domestication rate exceeding 60%, and even the engines are being replaced with the Changjiang CJ-1000, driving nails into Boeing's coffin.

When Airbus took 30 years to break Boeing's monopoly, COMAC may only need 15 years. With major airlines such as Eastern Airlines purchasing over 60% of domestically produced aircraft, market confidence proves more important than airworthiness certificates.

The most ironic part is that Boeing's defense department is selling weapons to Taiwan, while the business department is pleading for China to buy aircraft. This schizophrenic policy towards China deserves the slap of reality.

The ebbing of globalization has made Boeing a sacrificial lamb. Ten years ago, China bought Boeing aircraft for market-for-technology exchanges. Now, buying C919 is about defining markets through technology.

The stranded Boeing aircraft at the Zhoushan factory resemble relics of the golden age of globalization. Here, an aircraft was delivered every three days back then, but now rusted parts pile up.

America originally intended to force manufacturing back home with tariffs, but now Detroit's car factories are halted due to a lack of Chinese screws, and Texas chip factories are strangled by rare earth elements. These scenes are more convincing than any economic theory.

Boeing's plight proves that in today's deeply intertwined industrial chains, whoever tries to decouple first bleeds.

The deepest lesson from this game is that the话语权 of high-end manufacturing is shifting. While Boeing is still arguing over airworthiness certification, China has restructured market rules with 1,200 C919 orders.

Just like the breakthrough in high-speed rail technology, the aviation industry's reversal also follows the path of "market nurturing technology, technology feeding the market."

The more America tries to blockade, the more China can unleash its power to accomplish great things collectively—the breakthroughs in Changjiang engines, the domestication of large aircraft skin materials, and the autonomous control of avionics systems are not coincidental but inevitable under the national system.

Boeing is not only losing orders but also facing a turning tide of the era.

The tariff cudgels wielded by the Trump administration ultimately shattered America's own industrial foundation. When Boeing's market value evaporated by $12 billion in a single day and lost $11.8 billion annually, the White House was still playing numerical games like "145% to 125% then to 245%." Such policy swings are more destructive to confidence than the trade war itself.

Even more absurdly, while America is imposing tariffs on China, farmers' soybeans rot in the fields, Chinese restaurants cut jobs due to rising costs, and people even organize to make purchases in China. This surreal reality is more captivating than any novel.

Nobel economist Paul Krugman was right: Trump is burying America's credibility with his own hands.

The skies of the future will not be dominated solely by Boeing and Airbus. When C919 obtains EU airworthiness certification and CR929 wide-body aircraft emerge, China's aviation manufacturing industry will complete its transformation from a follower to a rule-setter.

Today's threats to Boeing will eventually become cautionary tales in history textbooks, teaching the world that true industrial security does not rely on threatening others but on mastering core technologies oneself.

This aviation cold war has no winners, but those who stand on self-reliance always stand on the side of time.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830255699393547/

Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views.