Deals signed to buy 300 Boeing planes

Through the new order, Boeing will be able to compete with its biggest rival Airbus Group (OTCMKTS:EADSY), which now has the lead in booking most commercial aircraft orders.

It represents a step-up in Boeing’s competition in China with European rival Airbus, which already has a manufacturing presence there. Their vitriol against Boeing’s decision comes just as the China’s President Xi Jinping is visiting Seattle (Boeing is based in Washington). The final flight trials are then completed before the aircraft is delivered to the customer. The assembly plant will be the company’s first in China. The aircraft giant estimates that it would receive more than 35% orders from the Asian region, which would be entertained by the Chinese plant.

Airbus opened its first assembly line outside of Europe in 2008 with a Tianjin facility that turns out four A320 aircraft per month.

Boeing’s current move can also be attributed to the closure of Export-Import Bank, as the US Congress did not renew its charter in July.

A report by the Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday said plans for a Boeing factory in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have been submitted to the central government in Beijing for approval.

Boeing has recently announced its plans to further boost the company’s industrial connections globally. Comac is already developing a Chinese narrow-body, the C919, as well as a smaller regional jet, the ARJ21, in commercial hub Shanghai.

Among the few concrete agreements expected to result from the Obama-Xi summit has been a confidence-building plan aimed at reducing the risk of aerial collisions between warplanes in areas such as the South China Sea through adoption of common rules of behaviour.

China Aviation Supplies Holding, ICBC Financial Leasing and China Development Bank Leasing inked the jet purchase agreement after Xi’s arrival in Seattle, Xinhua said. It also raised its projection for the China’s aircraft demand by 5 percent in August.

Representatives of Boeing union workers on Wednesday threatened the airline manufacturer with mass protests if their jobs are given to Chinese workers.

In the U.S. , China’s top state planner also signed an agreement with Boeing on strategic cooperation in the civil aviation industry, Xinhua reported, without giving details. It is, however, unclear which models the three are planning to buy.