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US President Donald Trump said Thursday that China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft, describing what he called "200 big ones" in a televised interview, though his own characterization of the commitment left room for doubt.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said the agreement emerged from his conversations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It was sort of like a statement but I think it was a commitment," he said, a qualification that appeared to unsettle markets. Boeing shares fell roughly 4 percent shortly after 5 p.m. GMT following the release of the interview excerpts.
The announcement, if formalized, would represent a significant revival of a commercial relationship that has been largely dormant for nearly a decade. Boeing has not received an order from Chinese authorities since 2017, when Trump visited Beijing during his first term and secured a deal for 300 aircraft, both single- and dual-aisle models, valued at an estimated $37 billion.
U.S. media reports had painted a more expansive picture ahead of the Geneva summit, describing a potential Chinese order of roughly 500 single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX jets, along with approximately 100 larger widebody models such as the 787 Dreamliner and 777. Trump's claim of 200 aircraft, offered without further specification, fell short of those earlier figures.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg was part of the U.S. delegation that traveled to Beijing for the summit, a signal of the company's direct stake in the diplomatic outcome. Last month, Ortberg told analysts he was optimistic about a potential Chinese order but made clear the outcome was not in Boeing's hands alone. "I think that's 100% dependent on the US-China negotiations and relations," he said.
The 737 MAX has faced additional scrutiny in China following two fatal crashes of the model globally, and Chinese carriers have been slow to reintegrate the jet into their fleets even after regulators cleared it for flight. A large-scale order would mark a significant vote of confidence in the aircraft.
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