United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he supports the export of American-made jet engines to China, in what looks like a reference to reports that his administration was planning to block General Electric from selling them.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump said he opposes efforts to prevent the sale of jet engines to China and thwarted a proposition from within the White House to limit the exports of aircraft engines jointly manufactured by GE and a French company.
Trump made it clear on social media that "we want to sell products to China and other nations... and as an example, I want the Chinese to buy our jet engines, which is the best in the world."
The US Department of Commerce did not issue any comments following Trump's comments on Twitter. The White House refused to respond to requests for comment.
GE said it has provided products and services the world over for many years. Shares of the company were down almost 1 percent during extended trading on Tuesday following news of the jet engine shipment ban.
China said it will use GE's aircraft engines for the development of its own commercial fleet of jets, the Comac C919, so it can compete with industry giants Boeing and Airbus.
According to reports, US officials are concerned that China could reverse-engineer the engine and join the global aircraft engine business. Another objective of the US proposal, sources said, is to delay the development of China's Comac program.
In his tweets, Trump also said that he does not want the "National Security excuse" to hamper American exports. "We don't want to make it impossible for China to do business with us," he said.
The discussions within the Trump's Cabinet officials are part of an effort by the US to slow China's capability to boost its commercial airliners and stifle the country's attempts to become a major technological superpower, analysts said.
The stoppage on engine exports would also underscore yet another problem for GE's aerospace operations. The aviation company is the exclusive supplier of jet engines to Boeing's 737 Max, which has been grounded globally after two air tragedies in 2018 and 2019.
The issue also puts on the spotlight the latest example of the Trump administration's often-disorganized approach to policy-making, with the commander in chief unexpectedly and even publicly weighing in on current corporate deliberations, leaving businesses muddled over where American policy is actually headed.
