Boeing plan eases aviation ties after years of strain

China agreeing to purchase 200 aircraft from Boeing is expected to bolster commercial ties between China and the United States, especially in the aviation sector, as industry analysts said the agreement represents a partial easing of strained industrial ties after nearly a decade.

The Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that China will purchase 200 Boeing aircraft "in accordance with its air transport development needs and on commercial principles", responding to a question regarding US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on the deal.

An official from the ministry said that aviation is a key sector for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between the two countries.

The US will also guarantee sufficient supplies of engines and spare parts for Chinese operators, according to a statement published on the ministry's website.

The comments came days after Boeing said that it had made progress in reopening the Chinese market during Trump's state visit to Beijing, where he was accompanied by a delegation of senior US business executives, including Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.

"We had a very successful trip to China and accomplished our major goal of reopening the China market to orders for Boeing aircraft," Boeing said in a statement to China Daily.

If finalized, the deal would mark Boeing's first major aircraft commitment from China in nearly a decade. The last major deal came during Trump's previous visit to China in 2017, when Chinese buyers signed agreements for 300 Boeing aircraft worth more than $37 billion.

Since then, Boeing has struggled to secure large orders from Chinese airlines amid geopolitical tensions and the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

China was once one of Boeing's most important overseas markets, with Chinese airlines accounting for roughly a quarter of the company's global deliveries before 2019. But the US manufacturer's presence has since weakened sharply as European rival Airbus expanded its footprint in China.

Airbus now holds roughly 55 percent of China's commercial aircraft market and has secured multiple large orders from Chinese carriers, including hundreds of Airbus A320neo family aircraft.

"Aviation has traditionally been a key link in China-US economic relations, and aircraft orders often serve as a barometer of bilateral ties," said Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy.

The Boeing commitment signals a shift toward more pragmatic engagement, with both sides returning to cooperation based on commercial interests, Zhu said.

"It shows that the global aviation supply chain remains deeply interconnected," he said. "High-end manufacturing such as commercial aircraft is difficult to separate from the global division of labor."

For China, the move also signals continued openness and commitment to maintaining stable global industrial supply chains, Zhu added, while for the US, it reflects recognition of the importance of the Chinese market.

Beyond geopolitics, analysts said the proposed purchase also addresses the pressing operational needs of Chinese airlines.

Over the past nine years, Airbus has steadily expanded its dominance in China, leaving airlines increasingly dependent on a single supplier. Reintroducing Boeing aircraft into the market could help rebalance the supply structure and improve resilience, Zhu said.

At the same time, Chinese airlines are facing aging fleets and strong demand for capacity growth, while production of the domestically developed C919 by the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China is still ramping up and Airbus order backlogs remain long.

"In that context, 200 Boeing aircraft could help fill near-term capacity gaps and ensure stable operations on major routes," Zhu said.

US commitments to ensure supplies of engines and components could also ease maintenance pressures for airlines and reduce operational risks, he added.

However, Zhu cautioned that the deal represents only a partial thaw rather than a full recovery in China-US aviation cooperation.

While aircraft purchases and supply chains may expand, barriers remain in areas such as airworthiness certification, core technology sharing and deeper industrial integration. In particular, certification of the C919 by Western regulators remains a key hurdle, highlighting continued technological competition between the two countries, he added.

Zhu said that future cooperation is likely to follow a pattern of "strong commercial cooperation but cautious technological engagement", as sensitive technologies such as aircraft engines and advanced avionics remain tightly controlled.

Both Boeing and Airbus expect China to become the world's largest aviation market by around 2043, with a commercial fleet of roughly 9,000 to 10,000 aircraft.