Boeing Loses Momentum in China as Summit Talks Stall
Hopes for a new deal between Boeing and China are fading ahead of this week's US-China summit, according to sources. The planemaker had been hoping to secure commitments for hundreds more jets, but it now appears that it will instead try to finalize a May agreement for China to buy 200 planes.
The original goal was for China to commit to buying as many as 500 jets, but negotiations have stalled and the deal is still in flux. Boeing had been shut out of the Chinese market since 2017, but the May deal put it back into competition with European rival Airbus.
Airbus has made significant inroads in China in recent years, partly due to its final assembly line in Tianjin and improved relations between China and Europe. Boeing's influence in the region has been damaged by politics and internal issues, according to Shukor Yusof, founder of Endau Analytics.