China says US airlines must toe line

WASHINGTON: The White House yesterday sharply criticised China’s efforts to force foreign airlines to change how they refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, labelling China’s latest effort to police language describing the politically sensitive territories as ‘‘Orwellian nonsense.’’

Amid an escalating fight over China’s trade surplus with the United States, the White House said China’s Civil Aviation Administration sent a letter to 36 foreign air carriers, including a number of United States carriers, demanding changes.

The carriers were told to remove references on their websites or in other material that suggests Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are part of countries independent from China, US and airline officials said.

The White House said in a statement that President Donald Trump ‘‘will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens.’’

‘‘This is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies . . . We call on China to stop threatening and coercing American carriers and citizens.’’

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue. Beijing considers the selfruled, democratic island a wayward province. Hong Kong and Macau are former European colonies that are now part of China but run largely autonomously.

China’s foreign ministry said China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had discussed bilateral ties by phone, and Yang said relations were at ‘‘an important stage’’.

It was unclear if the call came after, or was a response to, the White House statement — or if the two had even discussed the issue of how Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are referred to by US companies.

According to a foreign ministry statement late on Saturday, Yang told Pompeo the two countries should strengthen exchanges, maintain close communication over economic and trade issues and respect each other’s ‘‘core interests and major concerns’’.

The dispute over how airlines refer to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau is another area of tension in USChina relations.

A spokesman for Airlines for America, a trade group representing United Airlines, American Airlines and other major carriers, said yesterday it was working with the US Government to determine ‘‘next steps’’ in the dispute.

In January, Delta Air Lines, following a demand from China over listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website, apologised for making ‘‘an inadvertent error with no business or political intention,’’ and said it had taken steps to resolve the issue.

Also in January, China suspended Marriott International Inc’s Chinese website for a week to punish the world’s biggest hotel chain for listing Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as separate countries in a customer questionnaire.

Qantas Airways said in January it had amended its website so it no longer referred to Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries rather than Chinese territories, after China issued a similar warning. — Reuters