Boeing CEO: Trump is key to closing major plane order from Chinese airlines

Published: 2026-04-22 10:44:54 ET BA

Published on 04/22/2026 at 10:44 am EDT

SEATTLE, April 22 (Reuters) - Boeing is counting on the Trump administration to help unlock a long-awaited major order from China, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, adding the U.S. planemaker has reached "a good solution" with Chinese airlines addressing their concerns about access to critical spare parts.

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously threatened to cut off that access, including spare engine parts, in his ongoing trade dispute with China.

"Without the administration's support, I don't think we'll see any near-term large orders out of China," Ortberg said. "It really is something that would be tied to the effort from the administration."

Boeing and China have been in prolonged talks for a deal that industry sources say could include 500 737 MAX jets, plus dozens of widebody jets. It would be the country's first major Boeing order since 2017.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in May after a previously scheduled summit was postponed due to the Iran war.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Rod Nickel)

By Dan Catchpole and Shivansh Tiwary