Alvin Liu, a Chinese-born executive who was recently hired from the auto business, has been named head of Boeing's China division as the aircraft manufacturer struggles with a lack of American imports into the important aviation market. Top executives who were born in China now work for both Boeing and Airbus SE.
About a quarter of all airplanes are imported from China, and because of trade and geopolitical concerns with Washington, China's business relations with Boeing have suffered. Following tragic incidents, it was the first nation to put Boeing's 737 MAX on the shelf. Although the current planes have now been put back in service, China has been sluggish to restart imports, and political unrest has also affected more general jet purchases and imports.
As per Boeing, Liu is a native of the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning. The business said he had been in charge of its government operations team in China but did not specify his age or nationality. In the next 20 years, China will require 8,500 new aircraft and $550 billion in commercial services, according to Boeing.
"I am committed to making sure our team is ready to support our customers and meet that demand," Liu said in the release.
He succeeds Boeing veteran Sherry Carbary, who resigned as president of the China division in July and has been replaced in that role by Liu, who has held the position on an interim basis ever since.
Liu joined the business in 2022 after working for Ford and Chrysler in China in the auto industry. His hiring comes at a difficult moment for Boeing due to geopolitical concerns between the two biggest economies in the world. Airbus, its arch-rival and recent announcer of a second aircraft production line in Tianjin, has gained headway on it as well.