“Large Boeing orders” are expected as part of US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, adding that China and the US would discuss establishing a new joint board of trade to manage commercial ties.
Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said: “I think we’re going to see the large Boeing orders.”
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The agreement, if realised, would mark the first such order after a nearly decade-long drought fuelled by geopolitical and regulatory stand-offs, serving as a high-profile “deliverable” from Trump’s state visit to Beijing.
The latest “Boeing gift” for Trump follows the precedent of 2017, when a US$37 billion, 300-plane contract was announced during his first state visit to China.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was part of Trump’s CEO entourage that arrived in Beijing on Wednesday evening. This is the first visit by a US president to China in almost nine years.
Last month, Ortberg publicly appealed to Trump to help seal a deal, telling Reuters that Boeing was counting on Washington to help unlock long-overdue orders from China.
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