During a two-day visit to China, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Beijing will purchase 200 Boeing aircraft, a figure that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Following the announcement, Boeing’s stock saw a decline of 4.1% on May 14.
The specifics of the deal, including delivery dates and aircraft models, remain unclear. Reports indicate that prior to Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, discussions had centered around a potential order of approximately 500 aircraft.
Sources suggest that negotiations included the purchase of 500 Boeing 737 MAX jets, along with possibly several high-end wide-body aircraft as part of future orders. In addition, China is reportedly in talks with European manufacturer Airbus for a similar scale agreement.
Market forecasts predict that China will require at least 9,000 new jets by 2045, according to estimates from both Boeing and Airbus.
The last significant order from China for Boeing aircraft occurred during Trump’s visit to Beijing in November 2017, when a deal for 300 planes was finalized. Since then, U.S.-China relations have soured, leading to only 51 orders for Boeing, primarily for cargo planes.
Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13, accompanied by over a dozen leaders from American companies, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
On May 14, Trump and Xi discussed trade relations, the U.S. stance on Iran, and tensions surrounding Taiwan. Following the visit, Trump stated that China would also be purchasing oil from the United States, though this claim has not been commented on by Chinese officials.
This trip marks the first official visit by a sitting U.S. president to China in nearly nine years, the last being Trump’s initial term in November 2017.
President Trump's recent visit to China resulted in a commitment for 200 Boeing aircraft, significantly less than anticipated. This announcement impacted Boeing's stock negatively, reflecting ongoing challenges in U.S.-China trade relations.
Source: Reuters