Washington — Boeing’s shares fell sharply after US President Donald Trump announced that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets — a figure far below market expectations and well short of the roughly 500-plane package that sources said was under discussion ahead of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“One thing he agreed to today, he’s going to order 200 jets… 200 big ones,” Trump said on Fox News’ Hannity. Boeing shares dropped 4.1% during Thursday’s trading session.
Less Than Expected
According to Beyond Time News, details of the deal — including delivery timelines and aircraft types — were not immediately available. Analysts had anticipated a much larger order, making the announcement a disappointment for investors.
BNP Paribas aerospace analyst Matt Akers noted that Chinese aircraft purchases often reflect diplomatic timing as much as commercial reality. “It’s possible we still get more orders this trip, but right now investors are interpreting this as being less than hoped for,” he said.
Fierce Competition With Airbus
China is the world’s second-largest aviation market, and both Boeing and Airbus compete aggressively for sales there. Airbus gained the upper hand in the 2010s, even opening an A320 assembly plant in Tianjin.
Analysts estimate China needs to order as many as 1,000 new planes immediately and will require at least 9,000 new jetliners by 2045 — making it one of the most valuable markets in global aviation.
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Historical Context
China’s last major Boeing order came during Trump’s 2017 Beijing visit, when it agreed to buy 300 jets. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after that, and Boeing has received only 51 orders — mostly freighters — from China since then.
According to Beyond Time News, the summit also touched on extending a fragile trade truce struck last October, when Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi pulled back from restricting global supplies of rare earths.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp were among the American executives who accompanied Trump to China, hoping to finalise deals or resolve outstanding disputes.
