Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is expected to travel to China next week with US President Donald Trump’s business delegation as the US planemaker looks for White House help to close a long-awaited aircraft order from Chinese airlines.
The potential package could include as many as 500 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and about 100 widebody jets, according to reports from US and Chinese media outlets.
The aircraft would likely go to multiple Chinese carriers rather than a single airline, consistent with past Chinese aircraft orders announced through state purchasing channels.
China has a broad base of Boeing 737 MAX operators. Chinese state media reports that 13 domestic carriers operated 97 737 MAX aircraft, with China Southern Airlines, Air China and Hainan Airlines among the largest operators. Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Shandong Airlines also operated the type, while other Chinese carriers including Fuzhou Airlines and Lucky Air had resumed MAX flying after the aircraft returned to service in China.
But a new mega-deal from China remains far from certain.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14-15, 2026. China talks are certain to be shaped by ongoing trade tensions, Taiwan’s independence, export controls and fallout from the Iran war.
Ortberg has made clear that Boeing does not expect a major China order without help from the Trump administration.
“Without the administration’s support, I don’t think we’ll see any near-term large orders out of China,” Ortberg told Reuters in April 2026. “It really is something that would be tied to the effort from the administration.”
Reuters reported on May 7, 2026, that the Trump administration plans to invite CEOs from Boeing, Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, Qualcomm, Blackstone, Citigroup and Visa to join the China trip. Qualcomm confirmed it had received an invitation. Boeing declined to comment.
The summit is expected to focus on trade, Taiwan, export controls, rare earth minerals and the Iran war, though major breakthroughs on any of these topics are not expected.
A bipartisan group of US senators is already in China ahead of the summit. Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican and close Trump ally, said he hoped the talks would lead to Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft.
For Boeing, the stakes are high. China has not placed a major Boeing order since 2017, a drought that has stretched across the 737 MAX grounding, the pandemic, US-China trade disputes and Boeing production and safety issues.
The last major Chinese order for Boeing came during Trump’s first term. In November 2017, Boeing and China Aviation Supplies Holding Co. announced orders and commitments for 300 aircraft during Trump’s state visit to Beijing. Boeing valued that package at more than $37 billion at list prices.
A new China order would give Boeing a major commercial win as it works to stabilize production and rebuild confidence after years of disruption. It would also give Trump a high-profile trade victory at a summit already steeped in geopolitical gamesmanship.
Still, the outcome is not in Boeing’s hands alone. Any aircraft order would require agreement among Boeing, Chinese airlines, Chinese government officials and the Trump administration. It would also come at a time when Washington and Beijing remain divided over technology exports, tariffs, Taiwan and the broader direction of economic ties.
Ortberg has said Boeing and Chinese airlines have worked through concerns over access to critical spare parts, one of the issues that emerged during recent trade tensions.
