Boeing says China demand for aircraft steady despite economic slowdown

Boeing is not experiencing any slippage in demand for jetliners in China, despite the country's sluggish pace of economic growth, a senior Boeing executive said Wednesday. "We're not seeing any softness yet," said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's senior VP of sales for Northeast Asia. "We're watching it close," Mounir added, since global economic conditions could shift. "But if I just look at the Chinese market as it stands today, I'm not seeing any signs of weakness whatsoever." The comments came after other US industrial companies recently reported weak sales growth in China and suggested the weakness could extend through the end of 2016. Global demand for widebody aircraft has also slowed, raising concerns about sales growth at Boeing and rival Airbus. Boeing said last week it may further cut production of widebody 777 jetliners and not increase output of 787s unless sales improve.<br/>