A booster shot for Boeing

Associated Press and Herald Staff

WASHINGTON — China has ordered 30 Boeing 737 jetliners worth approximately $1.6 billion, Boeing Co. officials said Tuesday.

Boeing and Chinese officials signed the deal at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., with Commerce Secretary Don Evans. The purchase, which had been negotiated for months, was scheduled to be announced weeks ago but was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Boeing also announced that 10 previously purchased planes were going to Chinese airlines. Those orders, which included two 747 freighters, were previously listed by Boeing as being sold to unidentified buyers.

The order comes at a time when the domestic airline industry is faltering due to fallout from the attacks. Boeing announced two weeks ago that it will lay off up to 30,000 workers in its commercial aircraft sector because of lost business, and says the order is unlikely to change that.

Still, Evans hailed the deal as "part of what America needs now. It is part of what the world economy needs now."

Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of China’s State Development Planning Commission, said he came to the United States in part to show solidarity in the wake of the attacks.

"We will never forget our friends, particularly in times of difficulties," he said. "It is our hope that this purchase will strengthen ties between the two countries."

Boeing said China Southern Airlines is buying 20 737-800s, China Eastern Airlines is buying four 737-700s, Hainan Airlines is buying three 737-800s and Shanghai Airlines is buying two 737-800s and one 737-700.

The single-aisle jets, to be delivered between 2002 and 2005, will replace older jets on domestic routes.

In addition, Air China was revealed as the buyer for six previously purchased 737-700s. China Southern Airlines was reported to already have purchased two 747-400 freighters this year, and Xiamen Airlines was named as the buyer of two 757-200s bought earlier.

Those 10 planes have a combined list price of more than $795 million.

Boeing made its first sale to China in 1972 when the country ordered 10 707s after President Nixon’s visit. Chinese airlines currently operate 357 Boeing jetliners.

Boeing forecasts China will need 1,764 commercial jets worth $144 billion over the next 20 years, becoming its largest market outside the United States.

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