Airbus banking on China future

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE said on Friday that it was yet to start formal discussions with the Chinese authorities for setting up the final assembly line of its superjumbo A380 aircraft in the country, but remained confident of potential future cooperation opportunities.

George Xu, newly appointed CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft China, said he remained bullish about growth prospects for the world's largest passenger airliner in China, and Airbus is constantly strengthening its communications with Chinese carriers on A380 orders.

"When Airbus started producing A380s, it identified China as one of its most important markets. China has a lot of big air hubs, and the country has huge demand for large-scale aircraft," he said at a news briefing in Beijing.