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SHANGHAI— American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, +1.04% , Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, +0.61% and United Continental Holdings Inc. UAL, +0.86% joined other carriers in bowing to Chinese pressure to change the way they describe Taiwan—but stopped short of expressly referring to the self-governing island as part of China.
Beijing ordered all airlines in April to start referring to Taiwan as “Taiwan, China” and to stop implying that Taiwan is an independent country in their use of route maps and destination lists. Critics denounced the demand as bullying and the White House declared it “Orwellian nonsense.”
China considers Taiwan a province but the island has governed itself since 1949.
Many airlines, including Air Canada AC, -0.27% , British Airways IAG, -1.27% and Deutsche Lufthansa LHA, -0.48% swiftly complied with the order and now refer to the island as “Taiwan, CN” or “Taiwan, China.”
Amid rising U.S.-China trade tensions, the three American carriers delayed making any changes while they consulted with the U.S. government. Its attempts to intercede were unsuccessful, however, with China refusing a U.S. request for talks about the issue.
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