Home>News Center>China
       
 

Airbus mulls plane assembly in China
(Reuters/AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-05 06:28

TOULOUSE, France - Airbus agreed with Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday to study the possibility of setting up an assembly line in China -- a move that could see its jets being built outside Europe for the first time.

Wen signed an agreement to carry out a feasibility study for the project at the start a European trip expected to unlock provisional Chinese orders for 70 A320-family single-aisle Airbus aircraft worth $5 billion (40 billion yuan).

hinese Premier Wen Jiabao wears protective clothing as he visits satellite maker EADS Astrium in Toulouse, southwestern France December 4, 2005.
Premier Wen Jiabao wears protective clothing as he visits satellite maker EADS Astrium in Toulouse, southwestern France December 4, 2005. [Reuters]

Under the plan, signed during a tour of the European aircraft-maker's giant assembly plant in Toulouse, southwestern France, Airbus and Chinese authorities will review over six months whether to set up a second A320 assembly line in China.

Airbus planes are assembled in Toulouse or Hamburg, Germany.

Airbus said it had committed to boost fourfold the value of components it buys in China to $120 million by 2010. It has already promised China a 5 percent share of the work to build the fuselage of its latest model, the mid-sized A350.

Fanning French hopes for a cluster of aerospace deals this week, Wen began the three-day French leg of his visit by flying directly to Toulouse, the home of the country's high-tech aerospace and space industries.

"It's the market where you have to be," Airbus China chief Laurence Barron told Reuters as Wen inspected the first A380 superjumbo due to be delivered to Singapore Airlines in 2006.

"One in six planes sold this year will go to China. Next year that will be one in five. We have 30 percent of their fleet now and hope that will rise to 50 percent in coming years."
Page: 123



Premier Wen starts visit to France
Job fair in Changchun
Water supply shut in second Chinese city
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

Airbus mulls plane assembly in China

 

   
 

FM: Summit with Japan, S.Korea postponed

 

   
 

China's economy to grow by 9.4 pct this year

 

   
 

DPP under pressure to improve mainland ties

 

   
 

Former 9/11 commissioners: US at risk

 

   
 

Big income rise for farmers unlikely next year

 

   
  HIV/AIDS vaccine still some years away
   
  Tap-water supply cut off as city braces for toxic slick
   
  Road construction segregates giant pandas' habitats in Gansu
   
  Latest mine accidents kill 16, with 45 missing
   
  Corrupt official steals Three Gorges' cash
   
  Airbus mulls plane assembly in China
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Airbus may get major order for its A320 jets
   
Premier Wen to visit Airbus for part contracts
   
Airbus eyes 34% of China market share
   
Crippled plane lands safely at L.A. airport
   
Crippled jet lands safely at L.A. airport
   
Airbus aims for half of China's skies
   
India buys 43 Airbus jets for US$2.2b
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement