Boeing in Talks to Sell Up to 500 Jets to China Amid Ongoing Trade Disputes

Boeing is reportedly in talks with China to sell up to 500 jets, a potential breakthrough in the US plane maker's sales in the Chinese market since 2017. The negotiations are ongoing, but depend on resolving trade disputes. Chinese officials have begun surveying local airlines to gauge demand for Boeing planes. If completed, the transaction would mirror a similar arrangement with Airbus and represent a major win for Boeing. Boeing shares traded down 0.6% on Thursday.

Boeing is reportedly in talks with China to sell up to 500 jets, a potential breakthrough in the US plane maker's sales in the Chinese market since 2017. The negotiations are ongoing, but depend on resolving trade disputes. Chinese officials have begun surveying local airlines to gauge demand for Boeing planes. If completed, the transaction would mirror a similar arrangement with Airbus and represent a major win for Boeing. Boeing shares traded down 0.6% on Thursday.

The deal, if finalized, would be a significant step in Boeing's efforts to regain its market share in China, where Airbus has dominated sales and deliveries since 2019. The last major Boeing deal in China was in 2017, during Trump's first state visit, when Beijing agreed to purchase 300 single and twin-aisle planes for more than $37 billion [1].

The potential order is contingent on the resolution of ongoing trade tensions between the US and China. The two nations have engaged in several rounds of talks since de-escalating tariffs, but have yet to reach a final trade deal. The transaction could be a centerpiece of a broader trade agreement that benefits both Trump and China's President Xi Jinping [2].

Boeing's last Chinese deal was unveiled in November 2017 during Trump’s first state visit to China. The deal amounted to orders and commitments for 300 single-aisle and twin-aisle planes valued at $37 billion at the time. The next year, Boeing’s China deliveries peaked, when a quarter of its jets ended up in the mainland [1].

Chinese officials have already started consulting domestic airlines about how many Boeing aircraft they’ll need, according to people familiar with the matter. The transaction taking shape is similar in scope to the order for as many as 500 jets that China’s central planners have struck with Airbus SE (AIR.PA), but haven’t yet announced [1].

The Boeing order is expected to be the centerpiece of a trade agreement that would benefit both Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, the culmination of long-running and sometimes contentious negotiations. The nation’s leaders were close to a similar announcement in 2023, but then-President Joe Biden and Xi left a San Francisco summit without consummating an aircraft sale [1].

Complicating matters for Boeing is a leadership void in China. Alvin Liu, its top executive in China and a fluent Mandarin-speaker with extensive government contacts, left the company in recent weeks. Carol Shen has been named interim president of Boeing China, said people familiar with the matter [1].

References:
[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-talks-sell-many-500-142454067.html
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-talks-sell-500-jets-111105949.html