President Donald Trump’s administration plans to bar Chinese passenger carriers from flying to the United States starting in mid-June as it pressures Beijing to allow US air carriers to resume flights, three US and airline officials briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The move, set to be announced on Wednesday, penalizes China after Beijing failed to comply with an existing agreement on flights between the world’s two largest economies. Relations between the two countries have also soured in recent months amid escalating tensions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The White House and Transportation Department declined to comment on the matter.
The planned announcement comes after Trump’s administration on May 22 accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for US airlines to resume service to China and ordered four Chinese carriers to file flight schedules with the US government.
The restrictions are expected to take effect June 16 but the date could be moved up, the people briefed on the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and United Airlines (UAL.O) have asked to resume flights to China this month, even as Chinese carriers have continued US flights during the pandemic.
US firms in Hong Kong awake to ‘sad day’ as Trump vows to curb economic ties
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said on Saturday it was “a sad day” for the global financial centre, hours after US President Donald Trump moved toward stripping the city of its special treatment in a bid to punish China.
In some of his toughest rhetoric yet, Trump said Beijing had broken its word over Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy by proposing new national security legislation and the territory no longer warranted US economic privileges.
“We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China,” Trump said, adding that Washington would also impose sanctions on individuals seen as responsible for “smothering – absolutely smothering – Hong Kong’s freedom.”
Trump told reporters at the White House that China’s move on Hong Kong was a tragedy for the world, but he gave no timetable for the moves, leaving Hong Kong residents, businesses and officials to ponder just how far his administration will go.
“Many of us … have deep ties to this city and with Hong Kong people. We love Hong Kong and it’s a sad day,” she said, adding the chamber would continue to work with its members to maintain Hong Kong’s status as a vital business centre.
China’s parliament this week approved a decision to create laws for Hong Kong to curb sedition, secession, terrorism and foreign interference. Mainland security and intelligence agents may be stationed in the city for the first time – moves critics say put the city’s extensive freedoms at risk.
Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong insist the legislation will target only a small number of “troublemakers” who threaten China’s national security. They say such action is urgently needed after months of sometimes violent anti-government protests rocked the city last year.
Trump did not name any sanctions targets but said the announcement would “affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong”, including the US-Hong Kong extradition treaty to export controls on dual-use technologies and more “with few exceptions”.
China’s Global Times, published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said Trump’s decision was a “recklessly arbitrary” step.
The Hong Kong government – which has a long history of working ties with US counterparts, distinct from Beijing – has yet to respond, although it warned on Thursday the move could be a double-edged sword.
More than 1 300 US firms have offices in Hong Kong and provide about 100 000 jobs.
In the past decade, the US trade surplus with Hong Kong has been the biggest among all its trading partners, totalling $297 billion from 2009 to 2018.
