Airbus A330 Completion and Delivery Center to be built in Tianjin

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (3rd R Front) visits the headquarters of Airbus in the company of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (2nd L Front) in Toulouse, France, July 2, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

TOULOUSE, France - Airbus and its Chinese partners on Thursday signed a framework agreement on setting up an A330 Completion and Delivery Center in Tianjin, northern China, which will be the company's first wide-body aircraft cooperation project outside Europe.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who accompanied Li's visit to an Airbus facility here.

The agreement is taking the partnership between Airbus and China a "further step forward" following the establishment of an A320 Family Final Assembly Line and Delivery Center in the Chinese city, Airbus said in a press release on its website.

The agreement was signed by leaders from Airbus, Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company Ltd. and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The two leaders inspected a helicopter jointly developed and produced by China and France, half the units of which were produced by Chinese companies.

Calling bilateral cooperation in aviation and space a good example of China-France and China-EU practical cooperation, Li said such cooperation is not a simple buyer-seller relationship, but rather a strategic integration of complementary advantages.

During Li's visit, China and France also announced a decision to jointly explore third-party markets for win-win results.

Li's four-day official visit to France ended on Thursday, during which he also visited the headquarters of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Prior to his visit to France, Li was in Brussels for the 17th China-EU leaders' meeting.