US President Donald Trump on Wednesday banned Chinese airlines from flying to the United States.
The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June 16, stated reports.
The decision comes on the backdrop of China not letting United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resume flights this week to the country after operations were suspended earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Transportation Department said China was violating an agreement between the two countries covering flights by each other’s airlines.
The order allows Chinese carriers to operate one flight to the US for each flight that nation grants to American carriers.
The department said President Donald Trump might put the order into effect before June 16.
The move is the latest fallout of the escalation of tensions between the two countries following disputes over trade, the coronavirus pandemic and the treatment of Hong Kong.