The chief executive of Boeing says China’s agreement to purchase 200 aircraft during a recent presidential visit represents just the opening portion of what could become a significantly larger transaction.
Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s CEO, addressed investor concerns about the deal’s size during a U.S. conference on Wednesday, noting that some had anticipated a package involving roughly 500 aircraft based on discussions prior to the meeting between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this month.
Ortberg described his journey to China with Trump as “super successful,” explaining that it reopened China’s market to Boeing’s narrowbody aircraft for the first time in almost ten years following an effective purchasing freeze caused by trade disputes between the two nations.
“It’s a good start. And I’m very confident that keeping that market open, that’s an initial tranche of aircraft, and there will be more to come,” Ortberg stated.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the 200-aircraft commitment represents a completely new agreement and doesn’t include any previously undisclosed orders, though delivery timelines remain unconfirmed.
The aircraft are anticipated to go mainly to China’s three major state-controlled carriers: Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, the source noted while requesting anonymity since the details haven’t been publicly disclosed.
Boeing chose not to provide additional comments beyond Ortberg’s statements. China’s commerce ministry and the state-controlled airlines didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ortberg explained that after the Chinese government makes a commitment to purchase narrowbody planes, it distributes them among individual airlines, following which Boeing works out specific orders with each carrier separately.
“The initial commitment of 200 will turn into an order later on in the year,” he said. “I never had a plan to go to China and return with a packet full of 500 orders.”
Trump indicated following his China visit that Boeing purchases could potentially reach 750 aircraft.
China plans to acquire several hundred additional Boeing jets but won’t reveal the complete order simultaneously, choosing instead to announce commitments gradually, the source revealed.
China might later agree to buy an additional 300 to 500 aircraft, possibly bringing the total to as many as 700 planes, according to the source.
However, this would depend on Boeing meeting its responsibility to provide essential spare parts for jets currently operating with Chinese airlines, which have faced difficulties obtaining components during trade tensions between the two countries, the source explained.
China’s commerce ministry verified the 200-jet agreement last week, although it didn’t specify the aircraft types. The ministry noted that the U.S. would guarantee supplies of aircraft engine parts and components — a requirement the source characterized as essential for any future purchases.
Trump had warned last year about potentially implementing export restrictions on Boeing aircraft parts as part of Washington’s response to limits on rare earth mineral exports.
