Airbus to double production in China as it moves ahead with new orders
Airbus agreed on Thursday to build a second assembly line at its factory in China and was given a green light by Beijing to move ahead with 160 previously announced plane orders. The announcement was a pointed reminder of how China remains a critical market for European companies, even as American manufacturers are pulling up stakes. The agreement was signed in Beijing by Airbus’s CE, Guillaume Faury, who was part of an economic delegation accompanying President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Union on an ambitious state visit with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. Airbus is working to expand production of its best-selling A320 single-aisle jet, and bolster sales in China, whose leaders have taken pains recently to try to show the world that the country is open for business after it doubled down on pandemic lockdowns last year. Under the deal, the world’s largest plane maker will double production capacity of the A320 at its factory in Tianjin, in an aviation market that is the fastest growing in the world. And after trumpeting a major agreement last year in which China promised to buy 292 new Airbus aircraft, worth nearly $40b before discounts, the company said the Chinese government on Thursday gave approval for Airbus to start making 160 of those planes. Europe has been under pressure from the Biden administration to isolate Beijing by imposing more trade curbs on sensitive technologies, such as semiconductors that could have military uses. Talk of economic decoupling is rife, and Apple has shifted some production to India and Vietnam, although most of its revenue still comes from Chinese-made products. Von der Leyen said in a speech ahead of the trip that E.U. countries needed to reduce risk and “rebalance” economic ties with China. But other European leaders, and Macron in particular, have sought to maintain strong economic links despite China’s increasing assertiveness and support for Russia. The deal “underpins the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market,” Faury said. He added that Airbus was “privileged to remain a partner of choice in shaping the future of civil aviation in China.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-04-07/general/airbus-to-double-production-in-china-as-it-moves-ahead-with-new-orders
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Airbus to double production in China as it moves ahead with new orders
Airbus agreed on Thursday to build a second assembly line at its factory in China and was given a green light by Beijing to move ahead with 160 previously announced plane orders. The announcement was a pointed reminder of how China remains a critical market for European companies, even as American manufacturers are pulling up stakes. The agreement was signed in Beijing by Airbus’s CE, Guillaume Faury, who was part of an economic delegation accompanying President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Union on an ambitious state visit with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. Airbus is working to expand production of its best-selling A320 single-aisle jet, and bolster sales in China, whose leaders have taken pains recently to try to show the world that the country is open for business after it doubled down on pandemic lockdowns last year. Under the deal, the world’s largest plane maker will double production capacity of the A320 at its factory in Tianjin, in an aviation market that is the fastest growing in the world. And after trumpeting a major agreement last year in which China promised to buy 292 new Airbus aircraft, worth nearly $40b before discounts, the company said the Chinese government on Thursday gave approval for Airbus to start making 160 of those planes. Europe has been under pressure from the Biden administration to isolate Beijing by imposing more trade curbs on sensitive technologies, such as semiconductors that could have military uses. Talk of economic decoupling is rife, and Apple has shifted some production to India and Vietnam, although most of its revenue still comes from Chinese-made products. Von der Leyen said in a speech ahead of the trip that E.U. countries needed to reduce risk and “rebalance” economic ties with China. But other European leaders, and Macron in particular, have sought to maintain strong economic links despite China’s increasing assertiveness and support for Russia. The deal “underpins the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market,” Faury said. He added that Airbus was “privileged to remain a partner of choice in shaping the future of civil aviation in China.”<br/>
