(Yicai) Nov. 13 -- Airbus expects its second assembly line in China for A320 narrow-body aircraft to come on stream in early 2026, The Paper reported Airbus China Chief Executive George Xu as saying.

By 2026, the European plane maker will have 10 general assembly lines for single-aisle aircraft worldwide, including two in the Chinese city of Tianjin, Xu told reporters at the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition that opened in Zhuhai yesterday.

The Netherlands-based jet manufacturer will also continue to deepen its supply chain in China, he added.

China has become Airbus's single-biggest country market globally, Xu noted. As of the end of last month, Chinese mainland airlines operated 2,232 Airbus planes, making up 55 percent of China’s entire fleet, he pointed out.

The certification for its A330neo in the mainland is going smoothly and the first delivery to a Chinese customer could come next year, Xu said.

Airbus’s A220, A320neo, A330neo, and A350 models are described as more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and more fuel-efficient compared with previous models, and all support sustainable aviation fuel blends of up to 50 percent.

The global aviation market will need 42,430 new aircraft over the next 20 years, with China requiring 9,520 new passenger and cargo planes, accounting for more than a fifth of global demand, according to the latest forecast released by Airbus on Nov. 11.

China’s air passenger traffic is expected to increase steadily over the next two decades, with the passenger aircraft fleet growing by 2.7 times, Airbus forecasts. Meanwhile, driven by the e-commerce sector, China’s air cargo market is projected to expand significantly, with the cargo aircraft fleet expected to triple in size.

Editor: Tom Litting