China confirms purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft after Trump-Xi trade summit
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "China confirms purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft after Trump-Xi trade summit")
The Boeing Company signage is displayed above the company's booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. Photograph: (AFP)
China has confirmed the purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft following Donald Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping, while both sides signalled willingness to ease trade tensions and extend the tariff truce.
The Chinese government on Wednesday confirmed the purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft. The announcement, made by China's Ministry of Commerce on May 20, 2026, solidifies the preliminary terms that US President Donald Trump established during the high-profile bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The transaction will mark the single largest Chinese purchase of an American manufacturer’s aircraft in nearly a decade.
Both sides also showed willingness to ease the trade tension and to work towards an extension of the tariff truce they agreed in October and seek tariff cuts on $30bn or more goods each. The announcement came as Xi Jinping was holding talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump earlier said that the deal included 200 Boeing aircraft as well as 450 aircraft engines from General Electric, which could expand into 750 planes if early deliveries and operational milestones were met successfully. China’s Ministry of Commerce also agreed that American slaughterhouses were approved to export beef to China, opening the door to 600 US companies.
Tariffs remain an area of friction
US President Donald Trump said that they did not “discuss tariffs”, to which China's Commerce Ministry pushed back, saying that both sides engaged in an in-depth tariff conversation. “China hopes the US will honour its commitments and ensure that future tariffs or replacement measures against China, regardless of justification, will not exceed the levels agreed in the Kuala Lumpur trade consultations. China also hopes that future negotiations will further eliminate unilateral tariffs and create favourable conditions for expanding economic cooperation,” read a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Other key agreements between the US and China
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The Chinese Commerce Ministry also said that both sides agreed to establish an intergovernmental Trade and Investment Council, further details on which will be finalised. China also suggested that it is ready to work with the US on expanding agricultural trade and expanding the Kuala Lumpur trade agreement, which included the US 24 per cent reciprocal tariff and China’s countermeasures, US export controls under the “50 per cent rule.” However, China did not lift export controls on rare-earth and proposed compliance for only civilian-use applications.
