The Chinese government is considering asking Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) to assist in delivering CFM International LEAP engines for the C919 aircraft, Bloomberg has reported citing internal sources. This could help COMAC (Shanghai Pudong) bypass the retaliatory tariffs imposed on US imports into China.
Under the proposal, any Airbus aircraft delivered to China could be supplied with an extra set of engines. This would potentially qualify the engines as European goods rather than coming directly from US-headquartered CFM International. COMAC hopes that this will allow it to bypass the 125% tariff on US goods imposed by the Beijing government in response to a 145% tariff on Chinese imports implemented by US President Donald Trump.
The state-owned manufacturer has reportedly stockpiled enough engines to complete aircraft planned for 2025 but would need more to continue a planned ramp-up in 2026 and beyond.
CFM International is a 50/50 consortium of US's General Electric and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. While engines are built in both countries by the respective JV members, the consortium itself is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH. The LEAP-1C is the only engine option for the C919. CFM International also builds the LEAP-1A engine model for the A320neo Family aircraft and the LEAP-1B for the B737 MAX. Aero Engine Corporation of China, a state-owned firm, is developing a local alternative, dubbed the CJ-1000A, but it remains in early testing with no known timeline for entry into service.
