A new 737 MAX landed near Shanghai on Monday, the company’s first delivery to China in almost two months.
A Xiamen Boeing 737 MAX (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Boeing on Monday made its first delivery to China in almost two months after Beijing temporarily blocked Chinese airlines from accepting the company’s jets.
According to Reuters, the aircraft, a 737 MAX 8, was flown from Seattle and landed at a Boeing facility outside Shanghai. It was painted with the colors and insignia of China’s Xiamen Airlines.
Boeing sells to a number of airlines in China, including Xiamen, Air China, Donghai Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines. The country represents about 10% of Boeing’s order backlog, Reuters reported.
The Chinese government told the country’s airlines to stop accepting Boeing aircraft in April after President Donald Trump announced a fresh round of international tariffs, including new, higher taxes on Chinese imports. As the two countries retaliated against each other, U.S. tariffs on China climbed to 145%.
Tensions cooled as trade talks resumed, and in early May the Chinese government announced it would again allow carriers to take delivery of Boeing jets. A couple weeks later, CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company would restart shipments to China.
While Airbus outperforms Boeing in the Asia-Pacific region in general, Boeing has identified China as a key market, with its 2024 commercial outlook suggesting passenger traffic there will double by 2040. Aside from Airbus, it will also have to contend with state-owned manufacturer Comac, whose narrowbody C919 entered service with Chinese carriers in 2023. The C919 is meant to compete directly with the 737 MAX.
U.S.-China trade talks were set to enter a new phase on Monday with the start of face-to-face meetings in London. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are among the officials representing the U.S.
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