China inks deal to buy 70 Boeing 737 airliners
(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2005-11-20 08:48

Boeing refuses to confirm the report

US aviation giant Boeing refused to confirm a press report that China planned to buy up to 150 aircraft in a deal to be announced during US President George W. Bush's Beijing visit this weekend.

"I cannot confirm it," George Liu, Boeing China's spokesman, told AFP. "From our perspective, nothing has happened."

He added: "Boeing has a long-standing practice of deferring to our customers, and until our customers make a formal announcement, we don't have any further comment."

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported Saturday that China was expected to announce the purchase of up to 150 of Boeing's 150-seat 737 jets during Bush's visit, a deal worth up to 6.5 billion US dollars after discounts.

Quoting an unnamed senior aviation source, the report also said the China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group -- the state aircraft purchasing agency -- would buy up to 400 single-aisle aircraft in the next year.

The deal was expected to include the purchase of 45 planes that had already been approved by the board of China Southern Airlines but not yet by the state agency, the report said.

The China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group could not be reached for comment Saturday. A spokeswoman at the US embassy in Beijing said she has no knowledge of the plan, and Air China refused to comment on the deal.

In January, Boeing signed a 7.2 billion dollar deal to sell 60 of its new 787 "Dreamliner" passenger jets to Chinese airlines.

The aircraft maker said earlier that Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines would each have at least one of the new planes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

As part of his Asian tour, Bush was due to arrive in Beijing Saturday evening before travelling to Mongolia on Monday.