Boeing has appointed Landon Loomis as the new president of Boeing China. Loomis, who is fluent in Mandarin and has previously served as a White House advisor, brings his extensive experience in Beijing to this strategic position, especially as tensions between the U.S. and China escalate.

Effective immediately, Loomis succeeds Alvin Liu, who had taken up the role in August 2023.

In his new role, Loomis will be responsible for overseeing daily operations, implementing strategic initiatives, and managing senior government relations from Beijing. He will also continue his duties as Boeing’s Vice President of Global Policy.

Before joining Boeing in 2019, Loomis was a trade attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for five years, where he managed the aviation sector and other responsibilities. He also served as a special advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence for over two years.

“There was no one better qualified for the Boeing China president’s role than Landon Loomis,” said Brendan Nelson, president of Boeing Global. “Landon will continue to build upon our longstanding partnership and presence in China, drawing upon his deep industry and government experience and his own experience living and working in China.”

Prior to the appointment, Loomis served as president of Boeing Latin America and Caribbean and CEO of Boeing Brazil.

Boeing, a top U.S. exporter whose output of airplanes helped ease the U.S. trade deficit, has been caught in the crosshairs of U.S.-China tensions and increasingly been treated as a bargaining chip in the long-running negotiations.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to choke off exports of Boeing plane parts as part of Washington’s response to Beijing’s tightened export curbs on rare earth minerals. When asked what items the U.S. could impose export controls on, Trump said: “We have many things, including a big thing is airplane. They (China) have a lot of Boeing planes, and they need parts, and lots of things like that.”

In April, Beijing ordered its airlines to stop accepting new Boeing jets, sending back several jets earmarked for China back to the U.S. as part of the escalating confrontation with Washington. Beijing later quietly backpedaled in May as tensions eased briefly after both sides held their first round of talks in Geneva.

Still, the aviation giant highlighted the uncertainties with the U.S.-China trade relations, including tariffs, export restrictions, as major risks to growth outlook. While deliveries to China have resumed, the company still faces the risks of lower deliveries or losing market share, the company said in June.

As of June, Boeing had around 20 737-8 aircraft in inventory that were produced for customers in China which it planned to deliver this year.

Bloomberg reported in August that Boeing was working toward finalizing a deal to sell as many as 500 jets to Chinese carriers — in what would be a major boost to the struggling planemaker which has seen orders slump in the world’s second largest aviation market.

Its rival Airbus on Wednesday announced it had opened a second assembly line in China, boosting its manufacturing capacity in the country and further upping the pressure on Boeing.

– This story has been updated to correct the spelling of former Vice President Mike Pence.