“We can de-risk but not decouple,” Hayes told the business news outlet in an interview, adding that he believed this to be the case for all companies, without exclusion.
Hayes noted that US trade with China reaches $500 billion annually, and more than 95 percent of rare earth materials or metals either come from or are processed in China.
“There is no alternative,” he said, adding that it would take "many many years to re-establish that capability either domestically or in other friendly countries."
In February, China imposed sanctions on Raytheon and its CEO Hayes for providing weapons to Taiwan. But those restrictions have had little commercial impact because Raytheon is not allowed to sell military equipment to China, and the company maintains its links with Beijing through its aerospace and aviation systems business, according to the Financial Times.
Two of Raytheon’s subsidiaries — Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace, along with other Western partners, supplied China's first jet aircraft, the C919, which started to fly in late May, the report added.
Hayes emphasized that Raytheon is looking for alternative partnerships in other countries but will not leave China despite all concerns and limitations. “We are looking at de-risking, to take some of the most critical components and have second sources, but we are not in a position to pull out of China the way we did out of Russia,” he said.
He also expressed his belief that Raytheon’s recent decision to rebrand itself as RTX, announced on Sunday, would allow the company to divide its commercial aerospace business from its defense activities, which will continue to operate under the Raytheon brand.
The company’s CEO also confirmed that supply chain issues continue to impact the production of rocket motors for missiles for both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, including Stinger missiles and Javelins.
“We’ve had quality issues, shortages of labor and materials,” he said.
Hayes said earlier in June that Raytheon plans to deliver five more air defense systems to Ukraine by the end of 2024.