Hong Kong’s aviation industry will suffer greatly if the United States slaps export curbs on American-made critical software to the city, experts have warned.

The sector relied heavily on this technology, making it nearly impossible to find alternative solutions, they said.

US President Donald Trump earlier threatened to curb the export of “any and all critical software” to China amid escalating trade tensions between the two superpowers.

Trump’s threat to impose restrictions followed Beijing’s announcement of plans to expand export controls on rare earths –raw materials essential for producing hi-tech goods such as electric vehicles, smartphones and spacecraft.

Technology experts were quick to urge the city’s public and private institutions to accelerate their plans to replace any US-made critical software and be prepared for a potentially “painful” transition.

But some specialists warned that the aviation industry would be crippled if the US went ahead with the controls.