China is stepping up pressure on Boeing Co for compensation over the grounding of its 737 Max jetliners and a role in approving changes after two fatal crashes.
Two of three major state-owned carriers — Air China Ltd (中國國際航空) and China Southern Airlines Ltd (南方航空) — yesterday said they want compensation for their aircraft being grounded.
The third, China Eastern Airlines Ltd (東方航空), announced a similar request last month.
Photo: AP / Chinatopix
China is, along with North America and Europe, one of the biggest markets for jetliners. That makes its response critical for Boeing.
It was among the first nations to ground the 737 Max in March following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.
Investigators have suggested that a flight-control system was responsible for both 737 Max crashes.
“We must use punishment, and tell the Americans their practice of using concealment and fraud to extract benefits from others, while benefiting themselves, is unfair,” said the Global Times, which is published by the Chinese Communist Party and known for its nationalistic tone.
Air China also wants compensation for delays in aircraft deliveries, an employee of its publicity department said.
He declined to give his name or details of the claim.
China Southern wants compensation for disruption due to being unable to use its 737 Max planes, an employee of its publicity department surnamed Wang said.
The nation’s aviation regulator last month said that any changes in design or training would be “fully evaluated” based on the results of investigations into fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
That suggested Beijing wants to examine and approve any changes instead of relying on Boeing or the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
China is one of nine members on an FAA review panel, along with Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
“Let everyone participate to show you aren’t cheating,” said Guangcha.com, a news Web site.
Boeing has estimated that Chinese carriers would buy 7,700 jetliners over the next two decades.
The Chinese government alternates orders between Boeing and Airbus SE to maintain competition and hold down prices.
A state-owned manufacturer is developing a Chinese competitor to Boeings’ 737 and Airbus’ A320.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”