An American Airlines aircraft makes its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the US, on December 24, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

 
A US lawmaker's reported call for the US administration to restrict or suspend Chinese airline landing rights in the US over rare earths access is "utterly absurd," a Chinese expert said on Friday, noting that such a move would lead to an "unimaginable scenario" of a severance of commercial air routes between the two countries.   

John Moolenaar, chair of a US House of Representatives committee on China, on Thursday US time called the US administration to restrict or suspend Chinese airline landing rights in the US unless China restores full access to rare earths and magnets, Reuters reported. 

Moolenaar also said that the US should review export control policies governing the sale of commercial aircraft, parts and maintenance services to China. He claimed that "these steps would send a clear message to Beijing that it cannot choke off critical supplies to our defense industries without consequences to its own strategic sectors," according to Reuters. 

"The proposal by the US lawmakers is utterly absurd, as it essentially attempts to pressure China into fulfilling the US' demands by imposing completely unreasonable conditions, which is simply unattainable," Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Friday. 

Wang noted that landing rights between countries are mutually granted and based on the principle of reciprocity. If the US chooses to prohibit Chinese civil aircraft from landing in the US, China would be fully justified in taking countermeasures, such as revoking landing rights for US aircraft in China. 

"This would effectively lead to a severance of commercial air routes between the two countries, an unimaginable scenario," the expert said.

On Wednesday, the US Transportation Department approved another six-month extension that allowed United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines to fly just 48 total flights weekly to China out of 119 approved. Chinese carriers fly an equivalent number to the US, Reuters reported.

Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said that such an attempt to pressure China by restricting Chinese flights is unrealistic and completely absurd. 

"Such a move by the US would not only harm the interests of both China and the US but also damage global public interests," Lü told the Global Times on Friday.

Regarding rare earths, China has maintained a consistent and clear stance. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reiterated on June 12 that China's export controls on rare earths are in line with international practice, and China is willing to further strengthen communication and dialogue with relevant countries on export controls to promote convenient and compliant trade.

"We have stressed many times before that rare earth-related items have dual-use attributes, and that imposing export controls on them is in line with international practice," He Yadong, a MOFCOM spokesperson, said at a press conference on June 12. 

Global Times