European planemaker Airbus will open a second final assembly line in China that will double its production capacity in the country, its CEO said on Thursday (Apr 6).

“It makes a lot of sense for us, as the Chinese market keeps growing, to be serving local for the Chinese airlines, and probably some other customers in the region,” Guillaume Faury said during a trip to China, where he is accompanying French President Emmanuel Macron on his state visit.

The framework accord for the new site was later signed by Faury at a ceremony attended by Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, an AFP journalist saw.

Asia has become a key market for both Airbus and its US rival Boeing as demand for air travel climbs with an expanding middle class.

The new assembly line in Tianjin for Airbus’ hugely popular A320 medium-haul jets will begin operations in late 2025.

The first assembly site in Tianjin, opened in 2008, is turning out four A320s a month, and the company aims to up that rate to six a month this year. AFP

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