Airbus, Boeing are vying for China’s aviation market, but does the European aerospace firm have the edge?

Airbus doubled down on its investment in China during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, as the European aerospace firm seeks to widen its lead over rival Boeing in the critical aviation market.<br/>At the start of April on the sidelines of a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Macron, Airbus said it would double the capacity at its A320 family assembly plant in Tianjin and strengthen access to the world’s second-largest aviation market as domestic travel in China nears a return to pre-pandemic levels. Airbus has three other A320 family final assembly sites worldwide: Hamburg, Germany; Toulouse, France; and Mobile, US. China also agreed to buy 150 A320 and 10 A350-900 widebody commercial aircraft from Airbus. The announcements came amid worsening trade relations between China and the US that have essentially locked American aerospace manufacturer Boeing out of the world’s second-largest economy. Airbus expects huge growth in the Chinese aviation market in the next 20 years. The European aerospace firm predicts that China’s air traffic will grow by 5.3% annually, significantly faster than the world average of 3.6%. This will lead to a demand for 8,420 passenger and freighter aircraft by 2041, representing more than 20% of the world’s total demand for around 39,500 new aircraft in the next 20 years.<br/>Boeing has expressed a similar level of optimism, expecting China will require 8,485 new planes to serve passengers and trade until 2041.<br/>What is Airbus’ presence in China? Airbus counts China as a “strategic partner” and a key customer for its passenger jets and helicopters having first established an official presence in China in 1994. Since 2008, Airbus has been assembling its narrow-body A320-family planes in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.<br/>