China unfreezes A330 deal, extends Airbus JV

The A320 series has two variants, the A320-100 and A320-200.[China Daily]

China has signed an agreement with Airbus to extend the latter's aircraft production venture for another ten years and unfroze the previous A330 order which worth more than US$6 billion.

Watched by visiting Chinese president Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Francois Hollande, Chinese officials agreed on the Airbus assembly plant in Tianjin to continue production in 2016 to 2025. The two parties have been under negotiation to extend the factory beyond 2016 for months.

China has also unlocked its previous large-jet purchase deal with Airbus and bought a total of 70 aircrafts including 27 Airbus A330 airplanes and another 43 A320 airplanes. The A330 deal was suspended during a trade dispute triggered by the European Union plan forcing airline companies to join a emissions mechanism that China opposes to. The deal worth about US$10.2 billion at catalogue prices.

Chian also signed deals to co-produce 1,000 French EC-175 helicopters over 20 years with Airbus Group's helicopter division and to co-operate on turbo-prop engines with France's Safran.

Airbus opened its first non-European aircraft assembly plant in the port city of Tianjin in 2009. The factory and land have capacity to increase to 8 aircraft a month and could play a major role as Airbus, and its larger US rival Boeing, increase production to keep up with demand.

The factory currently produces 4 aircrafts a month.

China is the world's fastest-growing aviation market despite a slowdown in its economy, with a surge in outbound travelers fuelling the expansion.