China jet lessor orders 50 more 737 MAX planes for Boeing By Reuters

(Reuters) – China Development Bank Financial Leasing said its aircraft leasing unit will order 50 Boeing (NYSE: ) 737 MAX 8 jets, in a boost for the planemaker facing a slowdown in orders from China and factory workers strike.

Publicly disclosed purchases of Boeing jets by Chinese customers have slowed significantly since Sino-US trade relations deteriorated in 2018, and the manufacturer has faced a lengthy return to service for the MAX in China after two deadly crashes.

The order for 50 MAX jets is the largest by a Chinese customer since China Southern Airlines ordered the same number of MAX jets in 2015, according to data on Boeing’s website. Boeing declined to comment.

The planemaker’s deliveries to China have gradually recovered in recent months after a long hiatus.

CDB Aviation Lease will take delivery of the planes between 2028 and 2031, the parent company said in a statement, adding that it will increase the proportion of next-generation aircraft in its fleet.

The deal comes less than a week after more than 30,000 Boeing factory workers went on strike to demand higher wages, halting production of the planemaker’s best-selling MAX, among other planes.

Boeing said on Wednesday that tens of thousands of workers would be temporarily furloughed by the strike.

The MAX order is the second major aircraft transaction announced by China Development Bank Financial Leasing in the past week. The company said last week it would buy 80 Airbus A320neo planes, with deliveries expected to begin in 2030.