Boeing to open assembly plant in China

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a Boeing plant in Washington State

Boeing will open a plant in China in partnership with state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).

The new factory will focus on painting and assembling twin-engine 737 aircraft manufactured in the US.

Chinese firms also agreed to buy 300 Boeing jets, in deals worth about $38bn (£25bn).

The announcements coincided with a visit to the US by China's President Xi Jinping, who toured Boeing's Washington state factory on Wednesday.

The plan to open a plant in China has received criticism from the head of Boeing's biggest union and Donald Trump, who is seeking nomination as the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Trump said the plant would take jobs away from the US.

However Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg promised the new plant would not result in job cuts in the US.

The push into China is not the only development for Boeing in Asia. On Tuesday, the company finalised a $2.5bn (£1.7bn) deal with India for the sale of military helicopters.

India will purchase 22 Apache and 15 Chinooks helicopters to replace soviet-era equipment.