The market value of Boeing has seen a significant decline after anticipated announcements regarding a major aircraft sale failed to materialise during US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic mission to China.
Shares in the American aviation giant fell by 4.7 percent on Thursday, following remarks made by Trump during a Fox News broadcast.
Market observers had been closely monitoring the two-day visit for breakthroughs in the aerospace sector, alongside potential progress in semiconductors, rare earths, and agriculture.
While analysts from the investment bank Jefferies had previously suggested that Boeing was in talks for a “mega order” of as many as 500 jets, neither the manufacturer nor the Chinese authorities have released an official statement regarding such an agreement, reports Financial Times.
This potential deal would have followed the November 2017 purchase of 300 aircraft worth over $37 billion.
Despite the lack of an immediate aviation contract, Trump indicated that Beijing has committed to increasing its intake of American oil, gas, and farm products. He noted that Chinese vessels would be dispatched to Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska to facilitate these energy purchases.
Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, elaborated that agricultural exports to China are projected to rise by a “double digit billion” dollar figure annually over the coming three years, building upon an existing 25-million-tonne yearly soyabean agreement.
Greer stated that the administration is successfully working to “rebalance” the trade relationship.
The presidential delegation included prominent corporate figures such as Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX), Tim Cook (Apple), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg.
During the visit, President Xi Jinping assured the business leaders that China’s “door to business” would continue to open wider, though he did not outline specific policy shifts.
One anonymous senior American business executive in China remarked that the move towards trade stabilisation is a positive development for the commercial sector.
Following a two-hour bilateral meeting and a tour of the 15th-century Temple of Heaven, the two leaders attended a state banquet on Thursday. Their schedule for Friday includes further discussions over tea and lunch before Trump’s departure for the United States.
