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Boeing ( BA ) readies plane deliveries to China amid tariff

rollback

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China accounts for 10% of Boeing's ( BA ) commercial backlog

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New Boeing 737 with Xiamen Airlines livery leaves Seattle

on

trans-Pacific route

By Lisa Barrington and Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, June 6 (Reuters) -

A new Boeing 737 MAX painted with Xiamen Airlines

livery left Seattle on Friday on the first leg of the route used

to shuttle jets to the company's delivery center in China,

according to flight records on FlightRadar24.

The plane was bound for Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, one of the

refueling stops Boeing ( BA ) jets make on their way across the Pacific

to China. Deliveries to Chinese customers were

abruptly halted

in early April as the U.S. and China edged toward a trade

war.

A Boeing ( BA ) spokesperson declined to comment on the

jetliner's ultimate destination. Xiamen Airlines and the Chinese

government could not immediately be reached for comment.

Deliveries to China of new Boeing ( BA ) aircraft stopped in

April in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

However, on May 12, the U.S. and China agreed to roll back the

bulk of tariffs for 90 days.

Trump said on Friday that U.S. and China representatives

would meet June 9 in London to talk about a trade deal.

Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg on May 29 said Chinese airlines

would resume taking deliveries of Boeing ( BA ) aircraft in June.

At least three 737 MAX jets were repatriated by Boeing ( BA ) to

the United States in April from Boeing's ( BA ) Zhoushan completion

center near Shanghai, where they had been placed for final work

before delivery to Chinese carriers. The first plane to return

from China was the same one that left Friday for Hawaii.

Boeing ( BA ) has previously said customers in China would not take

delivery of new planes due to tariffs, and it was looking to

resell potentially dozens of aircraft.

Beijing has not commented on why Boeing ( BA ) deliveries stopped,

but said Chinese airlines and Boeing ( BA ) had been severely affected

by U.S.-imposed tariffs.

China represents about 10% of Boeing's ( BA ) commercial backlog

and is an important and growing aviation market.

Boeing ( BA ) in April said it had planned for 50 jets to go to

Chinese carriers during the rest of the year, with 41 in

production or pre-built.

While Boeing ( BA ) had said other airlines are interested in

taking rejected Chinese planes, the planemaker has not sent the

planes elsewhere despite aiming to reduce inventory levels.