![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e1017999d.jpeg?w=1200\")
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a73a310986e10179989.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
China\u2019s first Airbus, an A310, sits in a hangar after its 1985 delivery to the Shanghai regional branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n
In 1985, an Airbus A310, registered B-2301, was delivered to the Shanghai regional branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China \u2014 now China Eastern Airlines \u2014 becoming the country\u2019s first aircraft from the European manufacturer and joining a national in\u2011service fleet of about 200 planes.<\/p>\n
With that first delivery, Airbus glimpsed China\u2019s immense potential, said George Xu, CEO of Airbus China and executive vice\u2011president of Airbus.<\/p>\n
China offered a vast and rapidly growing market, with the reform and opening-up policy being expected to fuel greater domestic and international exchanges, which gave the European consortium confidence in the future of the country\u2019s aviation industry, he said.<\/p>\n
More than four decades on, China has become the world\u2019s second-largest aviation market and the biggest single-country market for Airbus.<\/p>\n
To date, the number of Airbus aircraft in service on the Chinese mainland has grown to more than 2,300, including passenger aircraft and freighters, giving Airbus a market share of more than 55 percent. China\u2019s fleet now also includes Airbus\u2019 latest aircraft models.<\/p>\n
The service scope also covers the entire lifecycle from pre-delivery technical support and in-flight operations to end-of-life, with 2,300 local employees based across 10 sites nationwide, including several facilities that Airbus established for the first time.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a73a310986e1017998b.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
An airbus aircraft sits in a Tianjin hangar at the final assembly line. The company\u2019s Tianjin FALs have\u00a0delivered over 800 A320-family aircraft since 2008. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n
Over the next 20 years, China will \u2014 \u201cwithout question\u201d, said Xu \u2014 become the world\u2019s largest aviation market. According to Airbus\u2019 latest Global Services Forecast, China is expected to take delivery of nearly 9,600 new aircraft between 2025 and 2044, accounting for more than 20 percent of global demand.<\/p>\n
That scale gives China a uniquely important position among the company\u2019s major strategic markets, which also include the Asia-Pacific region, India, the United States, and the Middle East, Xu said.<\/p>\n
While the Chinese market is highly competitive \u2014 not least because the aviation sector competes with China\u2019s extensive high-speed rail network, which is the world\u2019s largest \u2014 Xu said this makes it all the more crucial to deliver products and services of the highest quality.<\/p>\n
Being a long-term and reliable partner to China has guided Airbus throughout its 40-year journey in the country. That approach has grown in step with China\u2013European Union relations, which marked their 50th anniversary in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cAirbus has witnessed the relationship and benefited from it,\u201d Xu said. \u201cMore importantly, we have been active participants in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a73a310986e1017998d.png?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Watch video:<\/em>Decades of partnership lift off into a new era<\/em><\/p>\n Billion-dollar partnership<\/p>\n Along with that first aircraft delivered to China in the mid-1980s, Airbus also brought a parts subcontracting agreement covering the production and assembly of A300 and A310 avionics bay doors.<\/p>\n An even more significant turning point came around 2005, Xu said, when Airbus decided to build an A320\u2011family final assembly line, or FAL, in China, which was the first such facility outside Europe.<\/p>\n At the same time, Airbus also allocated a 5 percent workshare on the then\u2011in\u2011development A350 wide-body aircraft to China, paving the way for a composite manufacturing center in Harbin, in Northeast China\u2019s Heilongjiang province.<\/p>\n The Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Center, a joint venture between Airbus and its Chinese partners, is now the sole supplier worldwide of Airbus A350-900 elevator, rudder, S19 maintenance door, and belly fairing parts.<\/p>\n Following the inauguration of the first Tianjin FAL in 2008, Airbus opened a second line in 2025, making Tianjin home to its only A320-family final assembly lines in Asia.<\/p>\n Next door, wings assembled by the AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) Xi\u2019an Aircraft Industry Group are delivered directly to the production line, reflecting a partnership between Airbus and AVIC that dates back to 1999. The arrangement cuts delivery times by at least 60 days compared with shipping the wings from the United Kingdom by sea.<\/p>\n The relationship between China and Airbus grew from one focused mainly on the country as a market for sales to one also rooted in deep industrial cooperation, with Airbus steadily deepening the localization of its supply chain, Xu said.<\/p>\n \u201cAirbus currently has around 200 suppliers in China, with annual cooperation worth about $1 billion. We aim to increase that to $1.8 billion by 2030,\u201d Xu said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur cooperation has evolved from individual parts production to sub-assembly and major component manufacturing, then to final aircraft assembly, and now to maintenance, after-sales services, and even aircraft dismantling. It has become a comprehensive partnership across the entire value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n Chinese-made components can now be found across Airbus\u2019 entire commercial aircraft lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that has become increasingly clear to us in the Chinese market is that several factors are emerging as distinct competitive advantages,\u201d Xu said. \u201cThe first is certainty. In an increasingly uncertain world, companies are looking for certainty \u2014 certainty in policymaking, industrial direction, and the business and investment environment. These are all things businesses value greatly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother key factor is the strength of local partners. We have seen continuous improvements in their capabilities and overall competitiveness, whether in product quality, commercial performance, or their readiness for the future. This is particularly evident in areas such as R&D, decarbonization, and digitalization.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are all developments we pay close attention to, and in some respects, there is much we can learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n China-Europe flagship<\/p>\n The two A320-family FALs in Tianjin, which are a joint venture between Airbus and a Chinese consortium comprising the Tianjin Free Trade Zone and AVIC, stand as a flagship of industrial cooperation between China and Airbus, as well as a symbol of Sino-European cooperation.<\/p>\n Final assembly is far more than simply putting pieces together, Xu said, as it requires coordinating deliveries from a vast supplier network, integrating thousands of components with precision, testing and validating hundreds of aircraft systems, and meeting rigorous safety and airworthiness standards before a plane can take to the skies.<\/p>\n What ultimately comes together is not just an aircraft, but a highly reliable and finely tuned industrial system.<\/p>\n To date, the Tianjin final assembly lines have delivered over 800 A320-family aircraft, with about one-third of the Airbus fleet operating in China assembled there.<\/p>\n The facility has also expanded its reach beyond the Chinese market. In 2025, around 20 percent of the aircraft produced in Tianjin were delivered to non-Chinese airlines.<\/p>\n These deliveries have set \u201cindustry benchmarks\u201d in both quality and on-time performance, Xu said.<\/p>\n Marine Brand, head of quality corrective and assurance at Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly Company Limited, said Chinese colleagues\u2019 can-do attitude is particularly impressive.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are really efficient in fixing issues. They are really target-oriented,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you give them a goal or a target to achieve, they will do it, and they are very disciplined in doing it, which makes the work very efficient and quite easy from a management point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n Brand, who learned Chinese as a child and worked in Tianjin 15 years ago, said China felt like the \u201cperfect place\u201d to settle when she began considering a move abroad after spending many years in Europe.<\/p>\n At the same time, the move to Tianjin has also been professionally a \u201cwin\u201d for her, as she took on a new function in which she had little prior experience in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much happening right now in Airbus Tianjin. There are so many opportunities. I really hope to stay and be part of that success story of Airbus in China,\u201d said Brand.<\/p>\n Building the future<\/p>\n Airbus also looks to the future by continuously refining its existing aircraft families and developing technologies for the next generation of aviation, Xu said. To do so, he added, the company \u201cmust\u201d actively engage with China\u2019s innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, China\u2019s innovation landscape stands out globally,\u201d he said. \u201cThe quality and speed of innovation, the regulatory environment\u2019s openness to experimentation, and the market\u2019s willingness to embrace new technologies have all earned international recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n To harness China\u2019s strengths in innovation, Airbus has established centers in Beijing, Chengdu, and Suzhou, focusing on areas such as advanced materials, aviation software, smart manufacturing, cabin interior upgrades, sustainability, and more.<\/p>\n The Airbus Chengdu Lifecycle Services Centre is a notable example of how the company\u2019s drive for sustainable aviation aligns with China\u2019s long-term push for greener aviation, and more recently, a circular economy under the country\u2019s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).<\/p>\n Opened in 2024, the center is the first of its kind \u2014 a one\u2011stop shop covering aircraft storage, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling, recycling, and used\u2011parts trading.<\/p>\n \u201cAviation is among the hardest sectors to decarbonize,\u201d Xu said. \u201cTo succeed, we need to work much more closely with China, drawing on Chinese solutions to help the industry achieve its sustainability goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Yang Shudong, head of commercial of Airbus Chengdu Lifecycle Services Limited, said the center is also an important part of Airbus\u2019 localization strategy in China.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I joined Airbus China, the Chengdu operation has grown from a project into a fully functioning company that has now been running smoothly for two years,\u201d Yang said. \u201cIt is also worth noting that around 95 percent of the company\u2019s employees are locally recruited.\u201d<\/p>\n In for the long haul<\/p>\n Xu said long-termism and mutually beneficial cooperation have been key to Airbus\u2019 success in China over the past four decades.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opportunities we see in China \u2014 in its market, industrial partnerships, and innovation ecosystem \u2014 are all long-term in nature. Also, aviation itself is an industry with long investment cycles and considerable risks. That is why long-termism matters rather than chasing short-term gains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cCollaboration is another value we strongly believe in. At a time when the global political and economic landscape is marked by growing uncertainty, the focus has to be on creating win-win outcomes, not one side taking all the results,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Airbus has supported some Chinese private enterprises with no prior presence in aerospace in entering the sector, Xu said. They have since become increasingly capable and specialized, integrating into the company\u2019s global supply chain.<\/p>\n As China continues to expand its \u201chigh-standard opening-up\u201d economic strategy, Airbus, serving as a key industry anchor, has encouraged its global suppliers to deepen engagement with China, bringing a broad range of foreign companies into the Chinese market, Xu said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud to have been part of that journey,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Over the past 40 years, the European consortium has witnessed and contributed to the rapid rise of China\u2019s civil aviation industry.<\/p>\n The same four decades have also been a period of progress for China-EU ties, albeit not always in a straight line.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are times when the relations face challenges and uncertainties,\u201d Xu said. \u201cAs a company, we see ourselves as playing an important role in driving cooperation between the two sides. That is especially true for aviation, which is fundamentally about connectivity \u2014 connecting people, goods, and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Airbus is not looking back \u2014 only forward, to exploring the next stage of its shared journey with China.<\/p>\n Contact the writer at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Tanks to chinadaily.com.cn<\/p>\n Please visit:<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a73a310986e1017998f.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
The opening ceremony of Airbus\u2019 second A320-family final assembly line in Tianjin, China, December 2025.[Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e10179991.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
An A320\u2011family aircraft sits in a Tianjin hangar at the final assembly line \u2014 a flagship project of industrial cooperation between China and Airbus.\u00a0[Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e10179993.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
Workers in Tianjin, northern China, gather on the tarmac in front of the 800th A320\u2011family jet assembled at the Airbus final assembly line facility, December 2025. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e10179995.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
The Airbus Chengdu Lifecycle Services Centre receives its first aircraft for dismantling and recycling in 2024. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e10179997.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
An aircraft is dismantled at the Airbus Chengdu Lifecycle Services Centre, in Sichuan province, August 2025. The facility, opened in 2024, is a one\u2011stop site for storage, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling, recycling, and used\u2011parts trading. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e10179999.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
Ground crew in Tianjin gather in front of a fuel truck after the first Airbus delivery flight and test flight powered by sustainable aviation fuel in 2022. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img2.chinadaily.com.cn\/images\/202606\/12\/6a2c2a74a310986e1017999b.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1\"\/)
China Eastern Airlines receives the first A320 with sustainable aviation fuel from Airbus Tianjin in 2022. [Photo provided to China Daily] <\/p>\n