Workers check a Boeing 737 MAX jet at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in March. Photo: CNS

China may continue the purchase of Boeing aircraft, even though the US planemaker saw orders slump worldwide in 2019 after the grounding of its 737 MAX series over safety concerns, an industry analyst said, in response to speculation over whether Boeing will receive new orders from its major buyer.

Wang Boxue, a senior research fellow with the Aviation Industry Development Research Center of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday that if the ban on Boeing's 737 could be lifted, there is a strong possibility that China will purchase more Boeing aircraft this year.

The comment came after speculation by some foreign media that the China-US first phase trade deal on Wednesday may include China's purchases of cars, aircraft and energy supplies from the US.

"China may still buy about 100 aircraft from Boeing, but mostly 787 or 777 models this year," Wang said, adding that this will not be a big order, since the suspended 737 model had previously accounted for the major part of the orders.

Boeing did not respond to a Global Times query by press time.

One of Boeing's bestselling series, Boeing 737 MAX, has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes within five months that killed 346 people.

With cancellations outpacing purchases, the company's civil-aviation orders declined in 2019, according to its sales report released on Tuesday (US time). Industry analysts said that this was the first time this happened to Boeing in more than 30 years.

Among its global orders, most of the company's major buyers are from China. More than 50 percent of all commercial jetliners operating in China are Boeing planes, according to a Boeing report in 2019.