Airbus
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury shakes hands with Chinese National Development and Reform Commission President He Lifeng after the signing of an agreement. Credit: AFP or licensors.

Airbus has strengthened its cooperation with China in the aviation industry by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The MOU was signed in Beijing and aims to further develop industrial cooperation through new initiatives. It includes plans for both Airbus single-aisle and wide-body aircraft.

Airbus aims to achieve global A320 family production rate of 63 aircraft a month by 2021.

In line with this, Airbus’s A320 family final assembly line (FAL Asia) in Tianjin is set to increase its production by 50%. This will raise the facility’s production capacity to six aircraft a month by the end of this year.

Additionally, the manufacturer’s wide-body completion and delivery centre (C&DC) in Tianjin will handle A350 XWB from the second half of next year. The facility will deliver its first A350 aircraft in 2021.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said: “We attach great importance to our long-term strategic partnership with China and its aviation industry.

“Airbus is committed to serving this growth sector with the diverse portfolio it has to offer and we are committed to working with our Chinese partners to shape the future of the industry.”

Established in September 2008, the FAL Asia has so far delivered 450 A320 family aircraft to Airbus’ Chinese and Asian customers.

Inaugurated in 2017, the company’s widebody centre completed A330 aircraft development activities, including cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test.

The company has secured 913 A350 XWB firm orders from 51 customers worldwide.

In June, Taiwan’s China Airlines (CAL) ordered 11 A321neo aircraft and another 14 aircraft to be acquired on lease.