Aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Thursday announced the delivery of the 787-9 Dreamliner to Juneyao Airlines, the first passenger jet delivered by the US aircraft manufacturer to the Chinese company in four years, AFP reported.

The plane took off from Everett, Washington, around 16:25 GMT on Thursday, Boeing said. According to FlightAware, it is bound for Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Juneyao received in November 2019 the last plane delivered by Boeing to the Chinese company, also a 787, the US group said, saying that in total more than 110 Dreamliners had been delivered to Chinese customers.

The aircraft manufacturer considers the Chinese market to be key. According to his forecasts, China is expected to need 8,560 new passenger aircraft by 2042 and will provide about 20% of global demand on its own.

But deliveries to Chinese companies of 737 have not yet been resumed.

The 737 MAX was banned in China after two fatal crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 that led to grounding around the world. The US Civil Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended its flights for twenty months until November 2020.

The Chinese company flew the 737 MAX again in January 2023.

During an audio conference call with analysts in late October, executives at the American planemaker said that 85 of the 737 aircraft family were being prepared for delivery to Chinese companies.

“We continue to support our customers in China and will be ready to deliver to our Chinese customers when the time is right,” Boeing said Thursday.