China inks deal to buy 300 Boeing jets

The news agency also reported that the country’s Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd, known as Comac, signed a “cooperative document with Boeing to build a 737 completion center in China”. Later in the day, we expect to have more details regarding China’s order for Boeing planes.

Conner and Muilenburg did not discuss specifics of Boeing’s proposed 737 finishing facility in China, a step expected to be announced during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Seattle this week.

Boeing and Airbus each supplied about half of the aircraft fleet operating in China.

The wording echoes the “new model of major country relations” phrase that Chinese officials use to describe ties with the USA, suggesting parity between the powers.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow to see our jobs being used as bargaining chips to win orders when we gave up so much for supposed job security”, said Jon Holden, president of the worldwide Association of Machinists District 751.

A completion centre in China for the medium-range Boeing 737 will be the firm’s first outside the US.

“The emerging middle class in China is helping to boost demand”, Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Malayan Banking Bhd.in Kuala Lumpur, told Bloomberg News.

A Boeing factory in China would represent a shift in the USA giant’s strategy in the crucial market, where European rival Airbus already has a final assembly operation for medium-range Airbus 320 aircraft in the northern port city of Tianjin and plans to open a new completion and delivery centre for long-haul A-330s.

But the move could be controversial for Boeing at home.

It will also upgrade relevant Chinese enterprises as Boeing’s tier-one suppliers, the sources said.

A location for the planned facility has yet to be selected, but it would install seats, in-flight entertainment systems, and some galleys and lavatories, as well as the custom paint job for each airline, the reports said.

COMAC is already developing a homegrown Chinese narrow-body aircraft, the C919, as well as a smaller regional jet, the ARJ21, in commercial hub Shanghai.

China’s state planning agency also signed an agreement with Boeing to promote cooperation in the aviation industry, Xinhua said. Holden said Boeing should not forget that keeping its factory and jobs in Washington is the reason why it got a big tax break from the state and why workers forfeited their pension rights.

The company plans to buy back its additional common stock for up to $500 million.