Boeing confirms China refused to accept 50 aircraft

In an interview broadcast on CNBC, Mr. Ortberg said that Chinese airlines have stopped accepting Boeing aircraft due to the impact of US tariffs. He emphasized that if this situation continues, Boeing will soon redirect marketing these aircraft to other customers around the world.

Boeing is expected to deliver about 50 planes to Chinese airlines this year. If Beijing refuses to accept them, the company will not “wait too long” and will look to transfer the batch to other customers.

Mr. Ortberg affirmed that Boeing will not let tariff policies affect the company's recovery process and that it will actively cooperate if Chinese customers still want to take the planes.

Earlier, Bloomberg news agency quoted a source as saying that Beijing had asked domestic airlines to temporarily stop purchasing aircraft and components from US manufacturers, as part of its response to the tariff policy of the US President Donald Trump administration. However, there has been no official statement from China yet.

Boeing used to be a major supplier to the Chinese aviation market, with about 25% of its aircraft delivered to Chinese airlines. This ratio has recently dropped significantly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis related to the 737 MAX aircraft line and the recent trade and tariff tensions between the US and China.

Since taking office for his second term, President Trump has sharply increased tariffs on imports from China, now reaching 145%, and even 245% on certain items. Meanwhile, China has responded with tariffs of 125% on US goods.

However, in his latest statement yesterday, President Trump expressed his desire to reach a “fair deal” on trade with China and said that tariffs on Chinese goods would be significantly reduced, although not to zero. However, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the two countries have not yet discussed tariffs.