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Frank Chen

When President Xi Jinping travels to Washington later this month, he is likely to hop over the Pacific on a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. He will also hold the fate of the American planemaker’s much-touted China deal in his hands.
Beijing agreed to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft during US President Donald Trump’s visit to China in May. But the deal has yet to materialise – and the negotiations could depend on the outcome of Xi’s coming meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, according to industry insiders.
With key details still needing to be agreed – especially the time frame for any purchases – the final deal was likely to be shaped by the broader economic and political bargaining between the two presidents, they said.
“It’s all about the three Ws: whether, when and what,” said a retired aviation executive, who previously oversaw fleet management and engineering at one of China’s largest state-owned airlines.
“With Trump’s Beijing trip in May and the 200-jet deal announcement, the ‘whether’ part is now agreed upon … But a call on when to place actual orders needs to be determined by Chinese trade officials, a vice-premier or even needs a nod from the top leader.”
In May, China agreed to purchase at least 200 Boeing planes as a key deliverable from Trump’s state visit – the country’s first deal with the US aviation giant for nearly a decade.
At the time, China’s Ministry of Commerce said aviation was an area where both nations could deepen “mutually beneficial, win-win” cooperation, adding that the two presidents had reached an “important consensus”, without elaborating.
The White House, meanwhile, called the 200-jet deal an “initial purchase”, with Trump claiming that China could commit to buy up to 750 aircraft if certain conditions were met.
The deal has appeared to stall in the months since. No details have been released regarding the number or models of Boeing aircraft involved, nor which Chinese airlines will be placing orders.
No Chinese government agencies have provided updates on the deal’s status. There have not been any related announcements from Chinese airlines, either.
But the silence does not mean the deal is off. Xin Qiang, a professor with Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, said Beijing had been facing growing domestic calls to buy from Boeing in recent months – and that Xi’s US trip could present an opportunity to advance the deal.
“Many US-focused analysts and government departments have since this year made stronger recommendations to the top leadership [to place orders with Boeing],” Xin said.
“With Xi’s coming visit to Washington – which in itself is a sign of continued easing of tensions – the decision to advance the purchase makes perfect sense,” he added. “The reality is that there are very few high-end industrial products – Boeing aircraft being a prime example – that China has the need to buy and the US is able to sell.”
In May, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg cautioned that “official orders” from China “will come later in the year”, as the company was still working to iron out specifics with Chinese clients.
“My primary objective was to reopen that [Chinese] market … and we accomplished that,” said Ortberg, who was part of the US business delegation that accompanied Trump on his trip to Beijing.
“I think people focused a bit too much on the initial quantity,” he continued. “The order is a good start.”
In July, Ortberg told CNBC that Boeing was in the process of finalising the contracts. “China will allocate the total quantity to individual airlines, then we negotiate the contracts with individual airlines,” he said. “We are in the process right now. We will have contracts here shortly.”
A source with flag carrier Air China confirmed the airline was involved in discussions over a potential Boeing order.
“We are involved in this, but it is not something on which individual airlines can make a final decision – it requires coordination and advancement by the National Development and Reform Commission,” the source said, referring to China’s top economic planning body.
Beijing was currently maintaining a “silent period” regarding the deal status, the person added. “Our approach is to proceed and be ready, without making public comments.”
The last time China bought from Boeing was in 2017, when a US$37 billion, 300-plane contract was announced during Trump’s first state visit to Beijing.
But the US firm was later frozen out of the world’s second-largest economy, as US-China tensions rose and Boeing experienced a string of safety issues. In the meantime, China has directed huge orders to the company’s European rival, Airbus.
Airbus has landed a series of fresh contracts in China in recent months, with Chinese airlines including China Eastern, China Southern, Air China, Xiamen Air and Spring Airlines signing formal agreements for hundreds of European-made aircraft.
Switching wholesale to Airbus, however, would not be easy for China. Several Chinese airlines – including China Eastern-owned carrier Shanghai Airlines and Air China subsidiary Shandong Airlines – have all-Boeing fleets. These carriers have needed new aircraft for years to renew their ageing stock, according to independent aviation analyst Li Hanming.
“China does need Boeing,” said the retired airline executive, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak with the media. “The art of the deal [for Beijing] is to balance commercial need with geopolitical bargaining.”
For some market observers, one of the concessions Beijing will want to extract before proceeding with any Boeing deal will be securing supplies for China’s domestically made C919 passenger jet.
While the C919 is assembled in China, many of the plane’s parts are sourced from overseas – including the Leap-1C engine, which is produced by CFM International, a consortium between America’s GE Aerospace and France’s Safran.
In May, China’s commerce ministry said the US would “provide China with adequate supplies of engines and spare parts” for its aviation firms. The Boeing deal could be tied to firming up that guarantee.
For the executive, the coming Xi-Trump meeting could provide an opportunity for “breakthroughs” in such negotiations. “What’s better than the two presidents meeting face-to-face again?”
Additional reporting by Zhu Wenqian


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Beijing agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets during Trump’s visit to China in May. But the deal has yet to materialise – and could depend on summit outcome


Beijing agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets during Trump’s visit to China in May. But the deal has yet to materialise – and could depend on summit outcome.


Boeing’s 200-jet China deal could hinge on Trump-Xi talks: industry insiders

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets during Trump’s visit to China in May. But the deal has yet to materialise – and could depend on summit outcome

Beijing agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets during Trump’s visit to China in May. But the deal has yet to materialise – and could depend on summit outcome