President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Jun 3, 2020, ordered the suspension of all Chinese airlines into and out of the United States after China denied to allow American carriers to resume their services to China.
The call comes amid the growing tension between the world’s two biggest economies in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
The directive by the US government will take effect Jun 16 but could be implemented as soon as President Donald Trump gives the order. The Chinese civilian carriers include Air China Eastern Airlines.
“US carriers have asked to resume passenger service, beginning June 1st. The Chinese government’s failure to approve their requests is a violation of our Air Transport Agreement,” the department said in a statement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, US air carriers sharply reduced or suspended services to China, but United and Delta submitted applications to resume flights but have been unable to receive authorization from the Civil Authority of China.
The current spat between Washington and Beijing centers slightly on the CAAC deciding to determine its limit on foreign airlines based on their activity back on Mar 12.
At that time US carriers suspended all flights due to the coronavirus pandemic that implies that their cap was calculated to be zero
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“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 order said.
Back in January 2020, the coronavirus struck both US and Chinese carriers operated roughly 325 flights weekly between the two nations.
This flight comes after the US imposed restrictions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
President Trump blamed Beijing for the coronavirus outbreak and even gave a fiery speech last week over a new security law in Hong Kong.
China hit back on the US by mocking its stance on Hong Kong in light of civil rights protests across the state following the death of George Floyd.
