China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

China on Wednesday said it will buy 200 Boeing jets and seek an extension of a trade truce struck with the US that is set to expire this November.

The statement marked Beijing's first confirmation of the Boeing order, though it did not elaborate on the types of planes China would buy.

If finalized, the orders would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

US President Donald Trump visited China last week ‌for a summit ‌with President Xi Jinping, in a trip that produced ‌a series ⁠of trade pledges ⁠including the Boeing purchase and agricultural market access.

Trump said after the Beijing summit that the Boeing purchases could rise to as many as 750 planes, adding that they would be fitted with GE Aerospace engines.

The US will provide China with supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components under the Boeing deal, the Chinese ministry said.

TRADE TRUCE

The two sides will seek reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion or more worth of goods each, the ⁠ministry said, adding that US tariffs on China must not ‌exceed the level set under an arrangement reached ‌last year.

China and the US reached an agreement in Kuala Lumpur before a Trump-Xi meeting in ‌South Korea in October that extended their tariff truce for a year.

The deal ‌included US tariff reductions on Chinese products and a pause in Beijing's new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, which are vital for technologies like consumer electronics, electric vehicles and defense.

The statement came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that the Trump administration ‌was "not in a rush" to extend the tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China, signaling more trade talks with Beijing ⁠in the coming months ⁠to renew it.

Both sides will work together to address each other's concerns on export controls, the ministry said, adding that Beijing reviews export license applications for critical minerals including rare earths that are intended for civilian uses.

The White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday that China would purchase at least $17 billion of US agricultural products from 2026 to 2028, excluding the existing soybean commitment.

The Chinese commerce ministry statement did not confirm the number, but said the two sides achieved "positive results" in the agricultural sector and reached agreements on mutual market access.

Beijing will restore registration of eligible US beef exporters and resume imports of some US poultry products, the ministry said.

The US has pledged to remove or make progress on several non-tariff barriers affecting Chinese agricultural exports, with steps that would facilitate exports of Chinese dairy products, it added.



Riyadh Air Wins Approval to Operate US Flights

 A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Riyadh Air Wins Approval to Operate US Flights

 A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's new airline Riyadh Air won the right to operate flights to and from the United States, the US Transportation Department said in an order Tuesday.

The airline launched its first London flight on its new Boeing fleet last week. Launched in 2023, Riyadh Air is Saudi Arabia's second national airline ‌after Saudia, ‌and is owned by the country's ‌Public ⁠Investment Fund.

USDOT ⁠said "the grant of this authority is consistent with the public interest."

Riyadh Air told USDOT when it sought approval last month that it intends to operate to more than 100 international destinations by 2030 and currently ⁠has or is planning partnerships with ‌at least 10 ‌international air carriers including Delta Air Lines.

Delta has said ‌it plans to begin nonstop service ‌to Riyadh from Atlanta in October.

Deliveries are set to bring its fleet to eight by the end of July, and it plans to fly ‌to 22 cities by March 2027, Riyadh CEO Tony Douglas said last ⁠week.

With ⁠up to 72 787s and as many as 60 A321neos and 50 A350s on order, Douglas calls it "the biggest global aviation startup in modern history".

The airline is part of the Kingdom's plan to diversify its economy into new industries such as tourism, logistics and technology.

Riyadh Air has announced routes to Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Madrid and Manchester so far, and cities in India are likely to follow, Douglas said.


Exxon Mobil to Supply South Africa's First Planned LNG Terminal

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
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Exxon Mobil to Supply South Africa's First Planned LNG Terminal

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Exxon Mobil has signed a preliminary deal to supply liquefied natural gas to Zululand Energy Terminal, which will be South Africa's first LNG import facility once built, the companies said on Wednesday.

The planned terminal is part of South Africa's pivot away from coal-fired power generation, which accounts for the bulk of its electricity supply.

Reuters reported in March that the Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET) hoped to strike a deal with Exxon Mobil on LNG supply.

Exxon Mobil's ⁠participation helps reinforce ⁠the importance of Richards Bay port, where ZET is being built on South Africa's east coast, as an entry point for LNG and supports plans to unlock a "competitive and sustainable gas market", said Oliver Naidu, ZET director.

Exxon Mobil has identified South Africa ⁠as a priority market and wants to grow its LNG supply to more than 40 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) by 2030.

"This agreement reflects Exxon Mobil's global LNG experience and our commitment to support South Africa's energy security with reliable supply," said Andrew Barry, chairman of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development Inc.

Earlier this month, South African state power utility Eskom signed a long-term LNG agreement with ZET that will support a planned ⁠3,000 ⁠megawatt gas-to-power plant project.

Phase 1 of the terminal includes a floating storage unit and an onshore regasification system with capacity of around 3 mtpa, or 400 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

Phase 2, which will bring the project's total expected cost to $1 billion, will introduce extra regasification capacity and storage onshore, boosting total volumes to 4.5 mtpa, or about 600 million standard cubic feet a day, Naidu said.


IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.

The US and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz ⁠and the US lifting ⁠its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output, according ⁠to the IEA.

"If the deal holds, exports and production from the Gulf should see a gradual recovery – not least because Iranian oil exports can fully resume once the US blockade is lifted," the agency, which advises industrialized countries, said.

The oil market will then enter a significant supply overhang next year, the IEA said ⁠in ⁠its first look at 2027, with global oil supply set to surge by 8 million bpd and demand rising by just 2 million bpd.

"This may provide a welcome respite to the market and an opportunity to replenish depleted inventories, or to build new strategic reserves, as countries review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis."