Airbus stays put in Tianjin

Tianjin will likely be one of the world's largest aviation centers after Airbus extended its existing deal in the city.

Airbus and its Chinese partners agreed to extend their joint venture to assemble A320 family aircraft in China for 10 more years in a deal signed during President Xi Jinping's visit to France.[Special coverage]

The agreement will run through 2025, expand deliveries across Asia and include the final assembly of the A320neo family from 2017 onward.

"During the next 10 years, Tianjin will be built as Airbus' Asia center," said Airbus China president Eric Chen at a news briefing in Tianjin on Tuesday.

"In the coming future, Tianjin could be the third largest aviation center in the world," Chen said.

The Tianjin factory is the company's first assembly plant outside Europe. The company also assembles aircraft in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany.

"We have assembled more than 160 aircraft in Tianjin, which means nowadays almost 16 percent of Airbus aircraft that are operating in the sky were assembled in Tianjin," Chen said.

Airbus and its Chinese partners will jointly invite more major component suppliers to develop industrial projects in Tianjin, according to the company.

"Over 40 technological companies and suppliers are located in the Tianjin Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, and we will actively encourage more partners and suppliers to gather here," said Zheng Qi, deputy general manger of Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly Co.