Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) CEO Kelly Ortberg on Wednesday expressed optimism about the aircraft manufacturer’s orders from Chinese airlines ahead of President Donald Trump‘s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Confident About China Deals

During Boeing’s earnings call with investors, Ortberg was asked about the developments of Boeing’s orders from Chinese airlines. “I think that’s dependent on the U.S.-China negotiations and relations,” Ortberg said, adding that he was “confident” the negotiations would result in agreements that would be at the country level. “I’m confident that that will include some aircraft orders,” Ortberg said in the conference.

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“President Trump has been very focused on supporting us in international campaigns and he’s been very successful in doing that,” Ortberg said, adding that the negotiations presented a “meaningful opportunity” for Boeing. While Ortberg did not provide an exact figure, he said that it was “a big number.” The airline was reportedly in talks with Chinese airlines to secure an order of over 500 aircraft last year.

Boeing Earnings

Boeing reported strong earnings for the first quarter of 2026, recording a revenue of $22.22 billion, which illustrated a 14% YoY jump and exceeded market estimates of $21.78 billion for the quarter. Boeing’s adjusted loss per share of 20 cents was better than analyst estimates of 84 cents. However, the aircraft manufacturer’s total backlog increased to a record $695 billion.

Sean Duffy Touts Revamped Air Traffic Control

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has touted the revamped Air Traffic Control system in the U.S. aviation sector, aimed at retiring dated technology amid its modernization program. Duffy shared that the Trump administration was going to retire flight strips and floppy disks.

He had earlier asked for an additional $19 billion in funding from Congress, but now shared a revised figure of $10 billion to implement software upgrades to the system.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Boeing offers satisfactory Momentum, but poor Value. It provides a favorable price trend in the Long term.

Price Action: BA surged 0.18% to $231.69 during overnight trading.

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