Ola Akinwunmi
China has abruptly lifted its month-long informal ban on the delivery of new Boeing aircraft to domestic carriers, signaling a notable thaw in Sino-U.S. trade tensions following recent negotiations in Geneva.
Officials in Beijing have begun notifying airlines and civil aviation authorities that they may resume accepting U.S.-made planes, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes just one day after Washington and Beijing agreed to slash reciprocal tariffs by over 100 percentage points for a 90-day negotiation window.
In early April, Boeing disclosed that Chinese airlines had halted acceptance of several newly built jets, with at least three aircraft returned to the U.S. due to tit-for-tat levies that saw duties climb as high as 145 percent on U.S. goods and 125 percent on Chinese exports. The suspension of deliveries represented a serious blow to Boeing’s commercial backlog, of which China accounts for roughly 10 percent.
According to Bloomberg, Chinese civil aviation officials this week have informed carriers they are free to place and fulfill orders for Boeing aircraft, effectively rescinding the earlier directive to stand down on new deliveries. While the decision is informal and communicated through industry channels rather than a public decree, it paves the way for carriers to start scheduling acceptance flights and crew training sessions.
During talks in Geneva over the weekend, President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He agreed to a 90-day tariff pause, cutting U.S. duties from 145 percent to 30 percent and China’s from 125 percent to 10 percent on a broad range of goods. Trump hailed the deal as a “total reset” in economic relations with China and suggested a summit with President Xi Jinping.
Boeing had planned to deliver about 50 jets to Chinese airlines in 2025, with 41 already in production or pre-built, according to CEO Kelly Ortberg’s comments last month.
Industry insiders now expect China to accept approximately 25 of the remaining 737 MAX jets built before 2023, along with four 777 freighters currently on the assembly line. Customization hurdles—such as specific cabin seating configurations—had previously complicated the reassignment of returned aircraft to other buyers.
The delivery resumption is likely to inject a swift uplift into Boeing’s revenue stream from its Asia-Pacific segment, which accounted for nearly 36 percent of its Q1 commercial revenues.
It also serves as a confidence-building measure in broader U.S.-China economic ties, potentially laying groundwork for deeper negotiations on technology transfers and market access.