Boeing prepares for the largest contract of the decade: China may order up to 500 aircraft – Bloomberg

American aviation giant Boeing is close to signing a historic deal with China for the sale of about 500 aircraft. The potential contract could become a key element in complex trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, and also return Boeing to a market where its positions have been seriously shaken in recent years. This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.

DetailsAccording to insiders, negotiations between Boeing and China have entered the final phase. Currently, the parties are agreeing on details – from specific models to delivery schedules. Special attention is paid to the 737 Max line, which, despite the crisis of recent years, remains the most popular in the narrow-body aircraft segment.

The expected deal could be comparable in scale to Airbus’s order for the same 500 aircraft, which Beijing is preparing in parallel. This creates the impression that China seeks to balance between the two global aircraft manufacturing giants, ensuring access to scarce supplies, effectively scheduled until the 2030s.

The contract, which has been years in the making, largely depends on the further development of trade relations between the US and China. In recent months, the countries have reduced tariff tensions, but a final agreement has not yet been reached. At the same time, the future order could become a central point of a new agreement between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

For Boeing, this contract is a chance to regain lost ground. The last time the company concluded a large-scale deal with China was in 2017 during Trump’s visit to Beijing.

Since then, the Chinese market has been increasingly controlled by Airbus, especially after the suspension of 737 Max flights. Since 2019, Boeing has received only 30 new orders in China.

The situation is complicated by personnel changes: Boeing’s top manager in China, Alvin Liu, who had extensive government contacts, left the company. Carol Shen temporarily heads the region. Despite this, Boeing shares have already jumped 3.7% after news of the negotiations, and since the beginning of the year, the company has added more than 27% in value.

Analysts believe that it is not only about aviation, but also about diplomacy. Large aircraft orders traditionally play the role of “currency of trust” in US-China trade relations. If the deal is concluded, it could become one of the most significant in the modern history of civil aviation.

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