Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg Banks On Trump-Xi Meeting For Further China Aircraft Orders — Here's What He Said About Middle East Disruption

• The company expects 737 Max production to rise to 47 a month during the summer.
• Boeing also expects a growing demand for its weapons systems.
• Two variants of 737 Max, 737 -7 and 737 -10 are on track for certification this year
  
   

Boeing Co. (BA) CEO Kelly Ortberg on Wednesday said he is hopeful the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will bring in aircraft orders for the company.

During an interview with CNBC, Ortberg stated that China is an important, growing market and that Boeing has not received many orders from the country over the past several years.

“The President has been very helpful for us in new business in particular… international order. So, I’m very hopeful that with Trump-Xi meeting, that will result in further orders for us in China,” Ortberg said.

President Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet on May 14, 2026.

No Discussions With Middle Eastern Customers

Ortberg also said during the interview that there have been no discussions with its Middle Eastern customers on operational disruptions. He also added that the customers from the Middle East have not deferred any orders.

“Clearly, the Middle Eastern carriers have disruptions in their operations, but we have not had any discussions with them in deferring orders,” he added.

Boeing’s Growth In Defense Portfolio

Regarding the company’s defense portfolio, CEO Ortberg added that, since the military "operational tempo" has increased, its products have been extensively used in these operational tempos, and the company now expects growing demand for its weapons systems.

For its Defense, Space & Security segment, the company reported $7.6 billion in revenue, up 21% from the year-ago quarter.

During the quarter, the company secured a seven-year framework agreement to expand PAC-3 Seeker production and announced a deal with Rheinmetall to offer the MQ-28 Ghost Bat to Germany. 

The company also added that its backlog at Defense, Space & Security rose to $86 billion, with 27 percent representing orders from customers outside the U.S.

Increasing 737 Max Production

In terms of 737 Max production, Ortberg stated that the company has seen a ‘stability’ in terms of delivering 42 737-Max aircraft in the first quarter and now the company expects this number to rise to 47 a month during this summer.

Boeing saw its Commercial Airplanes segment revenue grow to $9.2 billion in the first quarter, up 13% from the year-ago quarter.

As far as aircraft certifications are concerned, the CEO added that two variants of the 737 Max, 737-7 and 737 -10, are on track for certification this year. 

The company’s first-quarter results outpaced Wall Street estimates. Adjusted losses per share stood at $0.20 on revenue of $22.2 billion, compared to an estimated adjusted loss of $0.68 per share and revenue of $21.58 billion.

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