Boeing secures first major China order in nearly a decade amid diplomatic thaw

Boeing is set to make its first major sale to China in almost a decade after President Donald Trump said Beijing had agreed to buy 200 aircraft following his summit with Xi Jinping, in what would be a significant reopening of one of the planemaker’s most important markets.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the broader arrangement could eventually allow China to buy as many as 750 Boeing jets, alongside a separate order for hundreds of engines from GE Aerospace. B...

oeing later confirmed the 200-plane order, but did not identify the aircraft types or disclose any further terms.

The deal, if fully implemented, would mark a notable shift for Boeing, which once relied heavily on Chinese buyers for long-term growth before relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorated and safety concerns over the 737 Max compounded the strain. Before the pandemic, around a third of Boeing’s narrowbody aircraft deliveries went to China, a share that later collapsed as ties worsened.

China was also the first country to ground the 737 Max in 2019 after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, a decision that underscored how deeply the company’s reputation had been damaged. Chinese airlines did not resume Max flights until January 2023, well after many other carriers had returned the jet to service.

For Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg, who joined Trump on the trip, the agreement would represent a meaningful boost after a difficult period for the company. Boeing has been under intense scrutiny since the start of 2024, when a door plug blew out of a 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland, Oregon, adding to pressure over production quality and financial performance.

The White House has presented the Boeing announcement as one of the clearest commercial wins from the summit, but the details remain hazy. The Chinese government has not publicly confirmed the purchase, and the agreement’s scope remains uncertain. Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund said there had been little concrete information emerging from the talks, including on other potential Chinese purchases of American exports such as soybeans, liquefied natural gas and beef.

Trump has increasingly leaned on Boeing as a symbol of U.S. industrial revival, and the company has benefited from a series of high-profile orders linked to presidential diplomacy. A trip to the Middle East last year produced large aircraft commitments, including a major Qatar Airways deal and additional Saudi Arabian orders. More recently, Korean Air finalised a roughly $50 billion purchase of more than 100 Boeing aircraft, engines and maintenance services during a visit by South Korea’s president, while Turkish Airlines said it planned to add 225 Boeing jets after a meeting between Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The new China agreement would therefore fit a broader pattern in which Boeing has sought to turn diplomatic engagement into commercial momentum. Yet the latest announcement also underlines how much still depends on the fine print. For now, Boeing has a confirmed order for 200 planes, a possible longer-term path to many more, and an opportunity to recover ground in a market that had once been central to its future.

Source: Noah Wire Services