Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg set to join Trump on China visit next week
Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg is expected to join President Donald Trump on a visit to China next week, a source familiar with his plans told CNBC on Thursday.
Trump is currently preparing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15.
Ortberg signaled earnings call It was rumored late last month that China could soon order “large numbers” of Boeing planes, ending a years-long drought for the company.
But Ortberg said any new deal with China is “100% dependent” on U.S.-China relations, including the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit.
Boeing recently resumed deliveries of some planes to China after a two-year hiatus. accidents It’s been nearly a decade since Chinese airlines placed a massive order from Boeing for all of the company’s 737 Max 8 jets in 2018 and 2019.
However, these airlines bought from Airbus, Boeing’s main rival. China Southern Airlines has agreed to purchase 137 Airbus A320 aircraft worth $21.4 billion at list prices, according to a post on the Shanghai Stock Exchange last week.
Airbus orders from China, including the China Southern sale, are worth approximately $55 billion at list prices since 2025, the stock exchange said.
China was nearing a deal to order up to 500 of Boeing’s 737 Max jets in March, Bloomberg reported In that case.
The order was planned to be announced during Trump’s trip to China, which was planned to take place in late March and early April. However, according to Trump, this travel plan was postponed at the request of the United States due to the Iran war that started on February 28.
The war has put new pressure on Trump and Xi’s relationship, raising concerns that the China trip could be postponed once again or canceled altogether. China is the world’s largest buyer of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf, where energy flows have slowed to a trickle due to the war-related closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A massive order from Chinese airlines would be a major boost for Boeing, which is in the process of ramping up production of its new narrow-body Max and wide-body 787 Dreamliner jets after years of safety and production crises.
China became the first country to ground the 737 Max after the crash in 2019. It lifted that decision in late 2021, nearly a year after the United States did so.
