Tracking one Boeing 737’s journey through the US-China trade war
The little 737 that could: the first Boeing to land in China in two months touched down on Monday.
For the first time in two months, Boeing is making a delivery to China.
A 737 that originally took off from Boeing Field in Seattle on Friday landed in Zhoushan, China, on Monday. According to Reuters, it was painted with Xiamen Airlines’ logo.
The jet in question has had an interesting journey: as FlightAware tracking data shows, it was one of the handful of Boeing jets that China rejected in April as trade war tensions boiled over.
At the time, the plane made refueling stops in Hawaii and Guam before attempting delivery, but was turned around and left to sit in Guam for several weeks. On April 19, it returned to Seattle.
Since then, relations have improved between the US and China, with each country slashing tariffs on the other. On Friday, the 737 left Seattle, taking the same route as it had in March before landing in China.
Last month, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said deliveries to China would resume shortly, sending the stock to a 52-week high.
The apparent successful delivery is welcome news for Boeing, which had planned to deliver 50 jets to China this year and expects the country to order $1.2 trillion worth of jets over the next 20 years.
Boeing has had a relatively nice time amid tariffs otherwise, scoring several multibillion-dollar orders announced in conjunction with US trade deals. Still, it has also had to watch its European rival Airbus close in on what could be one of the largest jet orders ever — with China.
