China Eastern’s multibillion-dollar Airbus orders, after EU delays on certifying Chinese planes, show not inconsistency but leverage towards a long-term goal
Last month, China Eastern ordered 25 A330neo jets from Airbus, which come at a catalogue price of US$9.35 billion. The airline, which operates the inaugural commercial routes of the C919, China’s home-grown passenger jet, had placed another Airbus order just three months earlier.
Generosity one month, coercion the next. That is not inconsistency. It is leverage, applied through different instruments towards the same long-term goal.