Boeing jet returns to US from China amid tariff war

A Boeing jet that arrived at a completion plant near Shanghai last month was returning to the U.S., flight tracking data showed on Friday, in a sign that at least one Chinese airline could be halting deliveries due to U.S. tariffs.<br/>The U.S. planemaker was reported earlier this week to face a Chinese ban on its imports, part of an escalating confrontation over U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" global tariffs, though industry sources said the status of rules remained unclear. In a sign that Boeing was preparing for normal business just weeks before Trump announced tariffs on April 2, tracking data showed at least four new 737 MAX planes sitting at a completion and delivery centre in Zhoushan, where Boeing installs interiors and paints liveries before handing aircraft to customers in China. Three arrived from Boeing in Seattle in March and one arrived last week, according to Flightradar24. On Friday morning one of those jets departed Zhoushan for Guam - one of the stops such flights make as they cross the Pacific Ocean before reaching Seattle - indicating it was making the return journey, tracking data shows.<br/>Photos posted to planespotting websites in February showed it was decorated with a livery for Xiamen Airlines, which is majority owned by China Southern. One source said the plane was expected to be delivered to Xiamen. In 2024 it was spotted in the U.S. with a Shandong Airlines livery and in 2018 with the Air China logo, other photos showed. None of those airlines immediately responded to requests for comment. Aviation publication The Air Current on Thursday reported that the first of three of the four recently arrived planes had been tagged to be recalled to the United States without a handover. Boeing declined to comment. Boeing deliveries to China have previously been disrupted at times of tension between Washington and Beijing. In January 2024 MAX deliveries resumed after an almost five-year import freeze.<br/>