Days after Airbus signed major deals with Chinese airlines, disappointing its American rival, Boeing, the European plane manufacturer is seeking to further increase its footprint in the Chinese market, with an event on Monday aiming to promote the A220 for short-haul flights and vowing to tap the market potential in Western China.
The planemaker revealed that it was in close contact with Chinese airlines, especially small and medium-sized carriers, for the purchase of its 100- to 150-seat A220 aircraft, which has the highest proportion of Chinese components of all the Airbus aircraft models.
A total of 15 Chinese suppliers have contributed to the manufacture of the A220, and the procurement value of A220s in the future is expected to account for about 40% of the total procurement value of Airbus in China, said Yang Xiaoyu, Airbus' head of flyable procurement in China and East Asia.
Airbus' latest push came after it signed deals last week with China's three biggest airlines for the sale of nearly 300 planes.
Airbus' intention to further expand in China is a great example demonstrating the promising prospects of cooperation between China and Europe, Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
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