According to a Forbes article, China has initiated the ratification process for its execution of the Cape Town Convention on aircraft financing. China believes this action will make U.S. aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturers more willing to sell their products in China and will encourage lenders to finance those products. The U.S. government confirmed China’s ratification intentions and stated that the action “will reduce the risk in financing aircraft purchases, making less expensive financing terms available to Chinese airlines, thus making it easier to purchase US aircraft.”
I think it is interesting, and quite accurate, that the U.S. references financing that is being provided to “Chinese airlines.” After all, the airlines, transport category aircraft and parts manufacturers and the financiers of those aircraft and aircraft parts were the driving force behind, and the biggest beneficiaries of, the Cape Town Convention. For all of the other aircraft transactions that are subject to the Cape Town Convention, the Convention has simply added unnecessary procedures and costs to transactions that were, for the most part, adequately secured pre-Cape Town.
