Chinese President Xi Jinping has gained a substantial bargaining chip against Donald Trump ahead of his meetings in Washington this week.
The Chinese government has acquired sensitive F-35 stealth aircraft parts that were mysteriously diverted to Hong Kong during transport from Australia to the U.S., according to Bloomberg.
The parts in question were a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door, both manufactured by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, that were coated with radar-absorbing material that boosts stealth capabilities, the outlet reported.
The aircraft parts were being shipped to the U.S. by UPS for inspection in late May. The plane transporting them stopped in South Korea before being rerouted to Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.
It was unclear whether the parts were intentionally redirected or why the plane had stopped in South Korea.
The outlet said the Chinese government later came into possession of the parts but has yet to return them.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
A Pentagon spokesperson told the Daily Beast in a statement that “the F-35 Joint Program Office and Department of War are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components. We are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.”
Despite this, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Xi on Wednesday, happily greeting the communist dictator after he descended the stairs of his plane at Joint Base Andrews.
Trump, 80, and Jinping, 73, walked down the red carpet before stopping to take in a fawning display of U.S. military pomp, complete with a band, ceremonial cannon fire, and a flyover that appeared to make Trump wince in pain.
