Taiwan’s China Airlines Ltd said on Tuesday it would buy 16 Boeing Co 787 wide-body planes to replace its aging fleet of Airbus A330s following a widely watched contest held against the backdrop of regional tensions.
The politically sensitive deal worth $4.6 billion at list prices was announced by the government-backed carrier weeks after a visit to Taipei by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered the Chinese regime and stoked Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
U.S. flagship planemaker Boeing had been widely expected to win the deal as talks by the government-backed carrier to renew its fleet coincided with attention to security partnerships amid what Taipei has called its worst tensions with China for 40 years….