WASHINGTON: Boeing Co urged the US on Wednesday to keep human rights and other disputes separate from trade relations with Beijing, and warned European rival Airbus would gain if the US planemaker were locked out of China.
Noting multiple disputes, he added: “I am hoping we can sort of separate intellectual property, human rights and other things from trade and continue to encourage a free trade environment between these two economic juggernauts.Boeing and Airbus each sell about a quarter of their jetliners to China, which has edged past the US as the world’s largest domestic travel market.
Beijing increasingly also faces tensions with the West over its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, and has warned foreign companies not to step into politics. Boeing’s most pressing concerns in China, analysts say, include the fate of its 737 MAX passenger jet, which was grounded worldwide for almost two years after two fatal crashes.