Boeing CEO Kelly Orthberg joined U.S. executives in a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on May 14, 2026, alongside the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.CNBC | Evelyn ChengCHONGQING, China — China's Commerce Ministry on Wednesday confirmed an agreement to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft, as well as engines and spare parts.A Commerce Ministry official said aviation was key to deepening cooperation between China and the U.S."In accordance with the important consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. leaders, China's aviation industry will introduce 200 Boeing aircraft based on commercial principles and its own needs for air transport development," the official said in a statement.U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News last week that China would purchase 200 Boeing airplanes. While the figure was less than half of what analysts had expected, it marked the first major Chinese order for the aircraft since 2017.Boeing, which manufactures most of its commercial aircraft in Seattle, could receive additional orders from Chinese airlines in the future, a Washington state commerce official told CNBC on Tuesday."Boeing has a lot of demand, a little bit of a waitlist, so I believe that it's only logical to me that there would be more orders in the future," said Andrea Chartock, assistant director, Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness at the Washington State Department of Commerce."We are very happy to hear about this announcement," Chartock told CNBC on Tuesday. The state has "a whole industry around Boeing" with suppliers ranging from space to satellites, she noted.China's civil aviation regulator said Sunday it met with Boeing CEO Kelly Orthberg a few days earlier. The executive was part of Trump's delegation to China.Boeing did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. Read more China newsTrump puts Taiwan arms sales, Hong Kong jailed activist Lai on agenda ahead of meeting with XiTrump and Xi face a test over AI controlIran focus at Trump-Xi summit may delay progress on tariffs, rare earthsChina is rewiring the Silicon Valley model — starting in Hong KongChina's self-driving truck leaders say AI breakthroughs won't accelerate rollout — here's why'Draconian development' in Meta-Manus deal draws the line in China's AI race with the U.S.Behind China's 'active efforts' for an Iran ceasefire: Business trumps politicsAlibaba launches data center with 10,000 of its own chips as China ramps up AI push'The thaw is real': Indian delegation visits China to talk EVs and moreWhy AI isn't replacing jobs in China (yet)Meta faces China probe over acquisition of AI agent startup ManusBeijing's surprise intervention on Meta's Manus rattles tech founders, VCs eyeing 'China shedding'Three niche commodity prices are surging. What they show about China's grip on supply chains