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US President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with China has hit one of the world’s big two planemakers, with Beijing reportedly telling Chinese airlines to halt deliveries of Boeing aircraft.
Boeing shares slumped as much as 2.5 per cent in response to the news, with Bloomberg reporting that “people familiar with the matter” say the order is in response to Trump’s imposition of tariffs of up to 145 per cent on Chinese goods.
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The sources also said the Chinese government asked airlines to stop purchasing aircraft equipment and parts from US-based suppliers, though China’s retaliatory 125 per cent tariffs on the US would have made this difficult regardless, and that Beijing is looking to assist companies facing higher costs for leased Boeing planes.
According to Bloomberg, Chinese airlines have been preparing to take delivery of 10 737 MAX aircraft, including two for Air China, two for China Southern, and two for Xiamen Airlines; some of these are at Boeing’s Seattle factory while others are at a finishing facility in Zhoushan.
The website’s sources added that some of these planes may already have completed payment and delivery, and could be allowed to enter the country on a case-by-case basis.
President Trump lashed out at China on his Truth Social platform, saying the country had “reneged on the big Boeing deal”, though he did not offer details on which deal he referred to.
In a statement relayed through his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, the US President said it was up to China to negotiate on tariffs.
“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them. There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” Leavitt said.
The news is yet another blow to Boeing, which in January announced it recorded its biggest annual loss in its 109-year history after previously revealing it would cut 10 per cent of its overall workforce.
The business lost US$11.8 billion in 2024, taking its total losses since 2019 to more than US$35 billion. In total, Boeing delivered just 348 jets during that period – down from 528 a year earlier and significantly less than the 765 delivered by rival Airbus.
The poor results were primarily due to the Federal Aviation Administration capping 737 MAX production at just 38 planes per month following the mid-air blowout of a door plug on board an Alaska Airlines MAX 9.
That incident significantly came after two MAX 8s crashed in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, killing 346 people and leading to claims there was a poor safety culture at the planemaker.
Boeing was given a boost, however, by President Trump’s announcement last month that it would be given the contract for the US’s new F-47 sixth-generation fighter.
