Whatever else President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi, discuss during the state visit this week in Washington, D.C., it seems unlikely that eVTOL aircraft will be on the agenda. Nonetheless, some observers would argue that the broader advanced air mobility (AAM) topic is very relevant to economic tensions between the U.S. and China, touching on unresolved issues around drone technology, trade imbalances, and artificial intelligence applications.
In a presentation to Vaughan College of Aeronautics and Technology on September 18, Chinese AAM expert Louis Liu made the case that while the U.S. and China are rivals in this field, there remains potential for collaboration and “mutual learning.” For instance, in his view, the White House-directed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, which allows new aircraft developers to launch trial operations in real-world conditions, is based on the approach the Chinese government has taken by giving its eVTOL pioneers significant latitude to launch early use cases ahead of full certification and operating approvals.
More In Regulations and Government
