WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - The United States has

suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies,

including those related to jet engines to Chinese state-owned

aerospace manufacturer COMAC, the New York Times reported on

Wednesday.

Citing two people familiar with the matter, the newspaper

said the move was in response to China's recent restriction on

exports of critical minerals to the U.S. The paper said the

department had suspended some licenses that allowed U.S. firms

to sell products and technology to COMAC to develop its C919

aircraft.

The Commerce Department and Chinese Embassy in Washington

did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The C919 is made in China but many of its components come

from overseas, including its LEAP engine which is made by GE

Aerospace and French engine maker Safran. GE Aerospace

did not offer an immediate comment.

The C919 - designed to compete with best-selling narrow-body

models of dominant planemakers Airbus and Boeing ( BA )

- entered service in China in 2023 after winning domestic safety

certification in 2022.

The C919 currently only flies within China and Hong Kong.

In 2020, the first Trump administration granted a license to

GE to supply engines for the jet. "I want China to buy our jet

engines, the best in the World," Trump said in February 2020. "I

want to make it EASY to do business with the United States, not

difficult."

GE was licensed for the LEAP engines in 2014.