US Treasury Secretary Bessent says China eyeing more Boeing purchases ahead of Xi visit
Treasury chief says US-China ties are stable but warns reliance on China in critical minerals, chips and medicines is unacceptable
“They agreed to 200 aeroplanes during the visit. We will see if they commit to a larger number when Xi Jinping arrives in Washington,” Bessent said in his budget request testimony to the Senate Finance Committee.
Sourabh Gupta, a Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies highlighted that Boeing purchases were “expressly tied” to the continuity of supply of engines and parts for China’s flagship C919 passenger jet.
“Once there is sufficient trust on assurance of flow, the number of Boeing jet purchases could reach up to an additional 500-550 more,” he predicted.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, a spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in Washington said: “Specific commercial purchases should be decided by companies based on market principles.”