Airbus China eyes next 40 years of growth

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said it would continue strengthening cooperation with Chinese industry players after operating in China — its largest single-country market — for 40 years, and will keep working to further facilitate the country's supply chain in going global.

Airbus delivered its first commercial aircraft to China, a wide-body A310, in 1985. According to the company, by then, China had over 200 commercial aircraft. Now, the country has become the world's second-largest air travel market after the United States, and Chinese airlines operate more than 2,200 Airbus aircraft, accounting for 55 percent of the market share in the country.

The plane maker said it is expanding its A320 aircraft's final assembly capacity in Tianjin with a second line and the new facility is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once put into operation by 2026, the facility will help double the capacity of A320 Family aircraft in China.

Last year, about one-fourth of the A320 aircraft assembled in Tianjin were delivered to non-Chinese carriers. In addition to Tianjin, Airbus operates A320 Family final assembly sites in Hamburg, Germany; Toulouse, France; and Mobile, Alabama in the US.

"China stands as an important strategic partner of Airbus' global map, and we will continue to insist on the 'in China, for China' business strategy," said George Xu, Airbus executive vice-president and Airbus China CEO.

Xu added that it requires long-term strategic thinking and vision to see the achievements created by many different types of cooperation, and that Airbus is committed to being a long-term reliable partner of China, with its belief being firmly rooted in the country.

Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, said Airbus' investment in Tianjin reflects its recognition of China's final assembly capability and the country's development of its civil aircraft industry chain.

"With global trade frictions, it undoubtedly shows Airbus' recognition of China's investment environment and the company's confidence in increasing the investment," Zou said.

Despite rising trade frictions globally, Airbus said its local supply chain in China has played a significant role in helping it to hedge against the uncertainties brought by tariffs, and its business in China has not been affected much.

"Tariffs in this world do not help. One thing that helps us is that we have a good and significant Chinese footprint and suppliers. Next, we would like to further grow our market share in China and deliver the backlog of aircraft," said Erik Buschmann, senior vice-president of Airbus and chief operating officer of Airbus in China.

"We want to stay where we are, even though there is competition in this market. We think we are well equipped for the next round of 40 years," Buschmann said.

China has continued to promote its high-standard opening-up and attract foreign investments, and Airbus said it has encouraged more international suppliers to cooperate with China and drive numerous foreign-funded enterprises in the aviation industry to settle in the country.

Last year, the annual number of flights by Chinese passengers on a per capita basis was 0.6 times, and the figure is expected to reach 1.8 times per person by 2044. In the next 20 years, China will become the world's largest air transport market, requiring 9,570 new aircraft, accounting for nearly one-fourth of total demand globally, Airbus said in its latest forecast.

China's civil aviation market has experienced rapid growth this year and transported 190 million passenger trips in the first quarter, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Meanwhile, the C919, China's domestically developed single-aisle aircraft, has netted more than 1,000 orders from home and abroad. So far, 20 jets have been delivered to domestic carriers for commercial flights and the model is accelerating its certification process in overseas markets, according to its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China.