Trump reveals China’s acquisition of 200 Boeing planes after Xi meeting, touting ‘a lot of jobs.’

President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping for China to purchase 200 Boeing jets, a deal he described as a significant boost for American manufacturing. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump revealed that the commitment, made during their high-level meeting in Beijing, surpassed Boeing’s own expectations. Trump quoted Xi saying, “he’s going to order 200 jets. That’s a big thing. Boeing — 200 big ones. That’s a lot of jobs. It’s a lot. Boeing wanted 150, he got 200.” Specific terms of the agreement, including delivery timelines and aircraft models, were not immediately disclosed.

Trump’s announcement came during his visit to China, his first trip to the country since 2017. He was accompanied by a delegation of prominent American business leaders for meetings with Chinese officials and executives. The visit unfolded amid escalating tensions between the two nations concerning trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and the repercussions of the war with Iran.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, a member of the delegation, had earlier described the trip as a “meaningful opportunity” for the aerospace giant. While Ortberg had refrained from specifying the number of potential aircraft orders during a recent analyst call, he expressed “high confidence” that any agreement reached by Trump and Xi would “include some aircraft orders.”

Prior to this announcement, Bloomberg had reported that China was considering the acquisition of approximately 500 Boeing 737 Max aircraft to meet burgeoning airline demand. Despite the new order, Boeing shares fell more than 4% in Thursday trading, as the reported total fell short of analysts’ expectations, according to Reuters. China’s last major Boeing purchase, involving 300 aircraft, occurred during Trump’s 2017 visit to Beijing.

The Chinese market remains a fiercely contested arena for aircraft sales, with Boeing and its European rival Airbus aggressively competing for dominance. Other notable executives accompanying the U.S. delegation included Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX), Tim Cook (Apple), Larry Fink (BlackRock), Jane Fraser (Citi), and Brian Sikes (Cargill).


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