Airbus eyes opportunities as China pursues aviation sector growth

As China's civil aviation sector pursues higher quality and greater capacity in the coming years, strong demand for capacity expansion is emerging, creating new opportunities for international aircraft manufacturers, said a senior executive of Airbus.

The entire industry will strive to build an efficient air transportation service system to achieve effective quality improvements and reasonable capacity growth, according to the nation's civil aviation development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period published earlier in August.

Amid the drive to improve quality and efficiency across China's aviation sector, several Chinese airlines are stepping up efforts to secure a leading position in the market, said Troy Wang, senior vice-president of Airbus, who is also head of commercial at Airbus China, during a news conference in Shanghai on Aug 19.

"With its extensive fleet of wide-body and cargo aircraft, Airbus will continue to be a reliable partner in the development of China's international aviation hubs and logistics network," said Wang.

Regarding China's efforts to develop domestically made aircraft, Wang said the aviation industry, like any industry, welcomes fair, efficient, and benign competition, because "this kind of competition gives customers and travelers more choices and helps participants improve together".

China's civil aviation sector recorded 770 million passenger trips and 10 million tons of cargo and mail throughput last year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). International passenger traffic and cargo volume both grew by more than 20 percent year-on-year, with international cargo and mail throughput accounting for more than 40 percent of total cargo transportation.

The capacity improvement and efficiency enhancement will involve measures such as developing international aviation hubs, expanding international transportation channels and optimizing global transportation networks, making wide-body aircraft increasingly important to capacity growth.

Meanwhile, China's growing role in global supply chains and booming cross-border e-commerce are creating diverse opportunities for air cargo transportation. The country's all-cargo fleet is projected to nearly triple by 2044, reaching more than 799 aircraft, according to Airbus.