President Donald Trump has said China agreed to buy 200 Boeing aircraft during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, describing the deal as a major boost for American jobs and manufacturing. The announcement came during Trump’s first visit to China since 2017. The trip also included meetings with senior Chinese officials and business leaders as both countries continue talks over trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and the impact of the Iran war.
Donald Trump says China will buy 200 Boeing jets
Donald Trump revealed the agreement during an interview with Fox News, saying the deal was larger than Boeing had expected. “One thing [Xi] agreed to today: he’s going to order 200 jets. That’s a big thing. Boeing — 200 big ones. That’s a lot of jobs. It’s a lot. Boeing wanted 150, he got 200,” Trump said.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was part of the US business delegation traveling with Trump. Earlier, Ortberg had described the China visit as “a meaningful opportunity” for the aircraft manufacturer. Ortberg recently said he was “highly confident” that any agreement reached between Trump and Xi would likely involve aircraft orders, although he did not mention specific numbers. The White House also did not release further details about the agreement, including which Boeing aircraft China plans to purchase or when deliveries will start.
Before Trump’s announcement, Bloomberg reported that China had been considering an order for around 500 Boeing 737 Max aircraft to meet growing demand from domestic airlines. Despite the news, Boeing shares fell more than 4% in Thursday trading, according to Reuters, as investors appeared to expect a larger agreement.
China remains one of the world’s biggest aviation markets, making it an important area of competition between Boeing and European aircraft maker Airbus. The two manufacturers have competed aggressively for sales in the country as Chinese carriers continue expanding their fleets.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
