The orders, if finalized, would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.
US President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping as he leaves after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. (AFP/Evan Vucci)
China has agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, with a potential commitment to purchase up to 750 planes, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday, adding that the planes would have General Electric engines. The orders, if finalized, would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.
It would also be much-needed win for Trump, whose aggressive tariffs and other trade policies have so far failed to make much of a dent in the large US trade deficit.
Trump said he had made "fantastic trade deals" and settled "a lot of different problems" in his meetings with Xi this week, but hours after the summit ended on Friday details on exact agreements remained scarce.
