Boeing shares fell 4 percent after United States (US) President Donald Trump revealed that China agreed to buy 200 planes, a much smaller number than expected. It is not yet clear what type of aircraft or when they will be delivered.
Earlier reports suggested talks were underway between Chinese and US officials for a possible sale of about 500 Boeing planes.
Following the meeting between President Xi and Trump on Thursday, the US president told Fox News: “One thing he agreed to today is that he’s going to order 200 planes… 200 big ones.”
Shortly after the announcement, the aircraft manufacturer’s shares fell 4.1 percent during market trading.
Reports suggest that China is negotiating a major deal to buy aircraft from European aircraft maker Airbus.
According to Reuters, Boeing data reveals that the Chinese placed an average of 127 orders each year from 2005 to 2017; However, following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, the Chinese order has been reduced to an average of 51 per year since 2018.
China is the world’s second-largest aviation market and Boeing’s competitors have struggled to secure deals.
Taking into account the population and growing demand for air travel in China, according to some analysts, China needs to buy at least 1,000 new planes this year.
According to market projections from Boeing and Airbus, the country will need at least 9,000 new passenger planes by 2045.
