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Trump’s Boeing deal may help stabilise China-US aviation ties, secure supply chain for C919
Details ranging from specific models, delivery arrangements and how Chinese operators would allocate the 200 planes are still lacking
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China’s first major order for Boeing aircraft in nearly a decade, along with an agreement to buy aircraft engines, could relieve pent-up demand for fleet upgrades and help the maker of the domestically built C919 secure stable supplies, analysts said.
US President Donald Trump said during his state visit to Beijing this week that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, adding that there is “a promise of buying 750 planes” on Friday aboard Air Force One after wrapping up his trip, without disclosing further details.
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Trump also revealed an agreement for the purchase of up to 450 General Electric aircraft engines.
A Boeing deal would mark the first order in nearly a decade, serving as a high-profile “deliverable” from Trump’s visit, though the initial purchase of 200 is smaller than the 300-plane contract he secured in China in 2017.
Richard Aboulafia, managing director at the US-based aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, said the smaller order was “not a snub, but no great victory either”.
“[It] keeps the door open and perhaps helps keep Airbus pricing more aggressive,” he added.
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