Boeing China Deal Hopes Fade Ahead of US-China Summit; 200-Jet Order in Doubt

Hopes for a new Chinese commitment to purchase Boeing jets are diminishing ahead of a Thursday summit between US and Chinese presidents, two people briefed on the matter said, with negotiations still in flux. Boeing is instead working to finalize a May deal for China to buy 200 planes, down from earlier hopes for hundreds more. The provisional 200-jet agreement, struck alongside President Trump's prior Beijing summit with Xi Jinping, ended Boeing's effective exclusion from China since 2017. Airbus has since expanded market share in what forecasts project will be a 9,000-jet market by 2045. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg last week played down prospects for a new large order. USTR Jamieson Greer said roughly 140 orders are "in a good state," with 10 more being finalized. US and Chinese officials agreed Wednesday to extend a trade truce by two months, past its November 10 expiry.