US ‘self-defeating’ ban on F-35 alloy from China an attempt to decouple
- Social media article on account connected to People’s Daily says the now-lifted pause on the specialty metal was part of ‘China hysteria’, not safety concerns
- The Pentagon and Congress have worked ‘consistently’ on decoupling US defence companies from Chinese supply chains, it says
Two days after the US Department of Defence walked back its pause on the cobalt and samarium alloy from China, an article on the account said the Pentagon had worked “consistently” with Congress to decouple US defence companies from Chinese supply chains.
Deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jets were halted on September 7 to comply with US law and Pentagon regulations banning the use of “specialty metals” from China.
“In business, it is natural for parties to be mutually involved and, given the complexities of the American military industry chain, eliminating a party is very difficult,” the article said.
It said the US was facing off a Chinese manufacturing chain that was “large in scale and variety”.
“The US knows best whether Chinese-made components are safe or not … Business is business, [it is about] win-win cooperation. To develop a persecutory delusional disorder over a small piece of metal is self-defeating.”
The article said the alleged concerns over the safety of Chinese-origin metals were actually about the number of Chinese suppliers to the Pentagon, said to be more than 650.