Chinese airlines and the Boeing Company have signed a preliminary agreement for the purchase of 60 Boeing 787 passenger jets. The deal, which was signed in Washington, could be worth up to 7.2 billion US dollars. Our Washington correspondent Xu Qinduo filed this report.
The newest member of the Boeing family was previously known as 7E7 Dreamliner and is to be produced from the beginning of 2006.
The aircraft will be delivered to six Chinese carriers – Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xianmen Airlines.
Each carrier is scheduled to receive its first 787 in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Li Hai, President of China Aviation Supply Company, said this deal was China's biggest aircraft order so far.
"This is the biggest ever order by Chinese airlines in terms of aircraft quantity and money, making China one of the largest launch customers of this new Boeing aircraft."
The 787, launched in April of last year, is a family of airplanes in the 200- to 300 seat class that will carry passengers on routes of between 6,500 to 16,000 kilometers, such as between Beijing and New York, Guangzhou to London, and Shanghai to Los Angeles.
Alan Mulally, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, welcomes China's choice of his products.
"All of us at Boeing are honored that China has again selected Boeing Airplanes to expand and modernise the Chinese commercial fleet. The first of these new 787 Dreamliners will fly the Chinese flag, bringing people from throughout China and around the world to the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
The Chinese purchase, considered the largest ever single trade deal between China and the United States, was signed against a larger picture of the booming trade ties between two of the world's largest economies.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a historic high of over 169 billion US dollars last year, up 34 percent from a year ago.
The United States is China's second largest trading partner after the European Union, while China is the fastest growing export market for the US.
With this deal in hand, Boeing is now looking further ahead, with the prediction that China will become the largest commercial airplane market outside the United States over the next 20 years.
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