The Chinese regime has said in recent days that it will impose export controls on some aviation and aerospace parts along with various military-related materials and technologies as of July 1.
Some experts have pointed out that China-based manufacturing accounts for a certain proportion of the U.S. aerospace industry chain. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new export restrictions may accelerate the West’s policy of “de-risking” from China.
On May 30, the ruling CCP’s Ministry of Commerce, its General Administration of Customs, and the Central Military Commission jointly issued a document to set export controls on some items.
According to the document, the listed items under export control include equipment, software, and technologies related to aviation and aerospace structural parts; engine manufacturing, equipment, software, and technologies for the manufacturing of gas turbine engines or gas turbines, equipment, and software; and technologies related to the helmet visors of spacesuits and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber.
Of these, the gas turbines are used in military combat ships and large vehicles such as tanks. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers can be used to make bulletproof helmets, bulletproof vests, bulletproof inserts, and bulletproof plates.
“This document is very special,“ Chinese American economist Davy Wong told The Epoch Times about the export restriction. ”It is the first time that it is issued in the name of the Central Military Commission, which means a few possibilities.”
One possibility is to plug some loopholes that currently see certain banned products still being exported.
“Some military industries secretly sold some products in the order, such as some engines, armor plates, and bulletproof vests, to third parties. [This document] is to fix this loophole, which means parts and products can’t be sold to the outside world without permission documents issued by the Central Military Commission in the future,” Mr. Wong said.
He noted that another possibility is to reduce China’s overall export volume. On the one hand, “it is because it [the CCP] needs to prepare for war while preparing for famine domestically, and it may be making preparations—preparing for war.”
On the other hand, he said, “it may be to supply Russia or other countries, so it needs to stockpile a large volume of the products, so it also prohibits many overseas orders for Chinese civil-military dual-use enterprises.”
According to data from China Customs, in the first four months of this year, the United States, India, and Vietnam were the top three importers of China’s gas turbine-related goods that will be affected by the restriction.
Export Restriction on Aviation, Aerospace Parts
In addition to controlling the export of military materials, the materials and components for aviation and aerospace equipment are also on the CCP’s new export restriction list.According to data from the CCP’s customs office, in the first four months of this year, the United States, Vietnam, and Singapore were the top three importers of China-made aircraft and spacecraft parts and products.
“In recent decades, Western capital has been invested in China, which has led to the rapid development of China’s manufacturing industry, including in the fields of aviation, aerospace, and some military industries,” Wang He, a U.S.-based China affairs observer, told The Epoch Times. “China has already accounted for a certain proportion of the relevant industrial chain of the United States.”
As to the purpose of the CCP’s export control over aerospace parts, Mr. Wang said the export of the aerospace industry accounts for a small proportion of China’s overall manufacturing exports.
“The CCP is just putting this out as a political move,” he said. “Through this export control, the CCP is showing the United States its attitude: I am not afraid of you, I want to fight you.
“It’s to show that, in the field of high-tech product components, the CCP is fighting back against the United States by imposing reverse export controls on the United States.”
In recent years, the United States has been imposing high-tech sanctions on the CCP because the communist regime has been using imported and sometimes stolen Western technologies to develop its military.
“The United States is now trying to decouple from the CCP and engage in strategic competition,” Mr. Wang said. “So it is building a high-tech containment on China and imposing a technological blockade.
“It [the CCP’s export restriction] is a political and diplomatic stance with symbolic significance. It is also part of the CCP’s psychological warfare with Europe and the United States.”
He said he believes that although the CCP has outlined strict restrictions, there will likely be significant flexibility in its actual implementation.
“It all depends on how Europe and the United States bargain with the CCP,” Mr. Wang said.
However, he noted, the scope of the CCP’s current export control is very limited.
“The United States is much more advanced in space technology than the CCP. The CCP is about a few decades behind the United States in general,” Mr. Wang said.
“When it comes to some advanced technology and parts of mechanical products related to aerospace, the United States mainly relies on itself.”
