Airbus sold its first plane to China in 1985, while Boeing had a 13-year head start. But the European company has steadily ramped up its fleet in China, with its market share increasing from 7 percent in 1995 to 35 percent at the end of last year. A close industrial partnership with the Chinese aviation industry is a key part of Airbus' strategy in China.The final assembly of Airbus A320 in Tianjin is "the logical next step" for Airbus' development in China, the company says. Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, tells China Daily reporter Lu Haoting more on the project in this exclusive interview. 

Q: How did you convince your headquarters and colleagues in Europe about the importance of the Chinese project at a time when Airbus is exercising the Power8 Plan, cutting costs and workforce? 

A: It's important to understand that with Power8, we are not reducing our production capacity. The job cuts in Europe are not in the area of production. We are increasing our production right now. We produce 32 A320s a month and have committed to 36 a month. We are studying (the possibility of producing) 38 to even 40 a month. So we can't reduce the number of people working in the factories producing aircraft.The Tianjin project will be about production. We are not taking away jobs from Europe and transferring them to China. Production demand is growing bigger and the project will help us meet some of that demand.

Q: The Tianjin factory will be able to assemble four aircraft a month by 2011. Will all the aircraft assembled there be delivered to Chinese airlines?

A: Four aircraft a month means up to 50 aircraft will be produced every year. But based on existing orders, we expect to deliver 80 to 90 A320 family aircraft per year to our Chinese customers from 2009 onwards. So the final assembly line in Tianjin will only meet part of the local demand.

Q: Why was Tianjin chosen as the site for your first assembly line outside Europe?

A: The Chinese government asked us to evaluate four cities. We decided two cities, including Tianjin, were viable with regards to seaport and logistics facilities, airport facilities, airspace for flight tests and so on. The Chinese government then selected Tianjin from the two sites we pre-selected. The Tianjin plant will be a copy of the assembly line in Hamburg.

Q: How many employees does the Tianjin factory need? How many of them will be Chinese? How is the recruitment process coming along?

A: So far over 150 Chinese employees have been recruited, including white- and blue-collar workers. They are divided into groups to receive language and basic training in China for half a year. Then they will be sent to the existing final assembly lines in Hamburg and Toulouse to receive on-the-job training and work together with experienced Airbus workers and experts.

We expect to employ about 500 people, mainly blue-collar workers. Once we fully train th e Chinese employees, we will only have a core team of expatriate specialists here. In the end, over 90 percent of the employees in Tianjin will be Chinese.

Q: China has announced its plan to make large commercial aircraft by 2020. As the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, what do you think of that decision?

A: There's no doubt China can build a large aircraft. The challenge is not to build the aircraft, but to sell it and support it. The question is whether it can be a commercial success. It's a tough and very competitive business.

Q: How can China benefit from this project? Will it help China make its own large aircraft?

A: Final assembly is considered one of the core competences of an aircraft manufacturer.

Clearly, this will increase the areas in which the Chinese industry will have access to core competences and the essential skills.

But whether the technology will be similar enough and be used in other programs will really depend on the technical decisions made by China in terms of the new large aircraft.

It might be assembled in a totally different way. It's more a question of overall production efficiency and processes, rather than a specific technology.

This project should have significant positive spin-offs for the aviation industry because it will encourage other industry suppliers to make their presence bigger in China.

(China Daily 05/16/2007 page14)