(Yicai Global) April 7 -- Airbus received a USD20 billion order for 160 planes from state-backed buyer China Aviation Supplies Holding. The European plane maker will also build its second production line in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.

During a visit to China with French President Emmanuel Macron, Airbus inked the deal with China Aviation Supplies for 150 A320 planes and 10 A350-900 wide-body aircraft.

“The aviation market will recover strongly this year, with Chinese airlines becoming much more confident in buying planes and demand returning to the pre-pandemic level,” Xu Gang, chief executive of Airbus China, told Yicai Global yesterday.

The aircraft supply chain is still facing bottlenecks and difficulties, and Airbus will go deeper into every supply chain link to help all of its suppliers to resume business quickly and safely, said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus.

“We are becoming increasingly optimistic about the future recovery of the aviation industry, especially the Chinese market, which has huge potential,” Faury added.

Airbus’ estimates show that a Chinese person on average will travel 1.5 times a year in 2041, compared to 0.5 times now, Faury noted, adding that China's share of the global aviation market will reach 20 percent in the next 20 years to rank as the largest single-country market.

Airbus also signed an agreement with Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Investment and Aviation Industry Corporation of China to build its second production line in Tianjin, which is due to become operational at the end of 2025.

This second final assembly line at its site in Tianjin demonstrates Airbus' confidence in the country's investment environment and that the firm will continue to invest in China, Faury pointed out.

Airbus has delivered more than 350 planes to China over the past three years, shipping 112 jets last year. Over 30 Chinese mainland airlines operated 2,127 Airbus aircraft as of the end of February, equal to about 54 percent of China's total.

Xiamen Airlines, which was China's biggest Boeing fleet owner in 2020, has since turned to Airbus.

Editor: Martin Kadiev