Boeing says China demand for aircraft steady despite economic slowdown

By Alwyn Scott

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co is not experiencing any slippage in demand for jetliners in China, despite the country's sluggish economic growth, a senior Boeing executive said on Wednesday.

"We're not seeing any softness yet," Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's senior vice president of sales for northeast Asia, said at a briefing marking delivery of the 50th 787 Dreamliner to ANA Holdings Inc, Japan's largest airline.

"We're watching it close," he added, because global economic conditions could shift. "But if I just look at the Chinese market as it stands today, I'm not seeing any signs of weakness whatsoever."

The comments came after other U.S. industrial companies recently reported weak sales growth in China and suggested the weakness could continue through 2016.

Demand for widebody aircraft also has slowed, raising concerns about sales growth at Boeing and rival Airbus. Boeing said last week it may further cut production of widebody 777 jetliners and not increase output of 787s unless sales improve.

A strong yen exchange rate has slowed some Chinese tourism to Japan, said Hideki Kunugi, ANA's senior vice president for the Americas. But he said ANA's decision to expand its Chinese network and capacity is also being supported by demand, he said.

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; editing by Diane Craft)