Airbus ups reliance on China firms

China's aviation suppliers are becoming increasingly important to Airbus' global production expansion, offering manufacturing expertise and supply-chain resilience as the European aircraft maker seeks to meet growing demand, senior executives and industry experts said.

The deepening industrial partnership was highlighted on Wednesday when Airbus delivered an A320neo to China Eastern Airlines, the first aircraft assembled at its second final assembly line in Tianjin.

The delivery comes as Airbus ramps up its A320 Family production globally, targeting a rate of 75 aircraft a month by 2027, with the Tianjin facility providing additional capacity and flexibility to support the expansion, the company said.

"We are very happy about the resilience we see in the Chinese supply chain. We have resilient, very professional, very good suppliers and we very much enjoy working with them," said Erik Buschmann, Airbus senior vice-president and Airbus China chief operating officer, at the delivery ceremony. "This helps us stay competitive in China."

Buschmann said China's stable market environment and vibrant innovation ecosystem firmly underpin the company's decision to expand. Airbus forecasts that China, its largest single country market, will require 8,830 new passenger aircraft over the next two decades, representing more than a fifth of projected global demand.

The second line in Tianjin, inaugurated in October 2025, brings Airbus global final assembly lines to 10, including four in Hamburg, Germany, two in Toulouse, France, two in Mobile, the United States, and two in Tianjin. The first Tianjin line opened in 2008 and has assembled and delivered more than 800 aircraft.

This maturing supply chain is central to the investment's longer-term significance, said Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy.

Zhu said Airbus's cooperation with Chinese suppliers had expanded from aircraft assembly to more complex manufacturing work, including wing assembly and fuselage systems installation. As such complex work takes root locally, Airbus can draw more deeply on China's industrial capabilities, while domestic firms gain experience in demanding international production systems.

Chinese suppliers also have opportunities to supply Airbus factories outside China, extending the commercial benefits beyond orders from Tianjin, Zhu said.

The localization of A321 fuselage systems installation in Tianjin offers an example of these operational gains, said Yang Hangjun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics and president of the China Chapter of the Air Transport Research Society.

"Completing system assembly adjacent to the final assembly line cuts inventory turnover by at least two months and reduces capital tied up in transit. It transforms Tianjin from an assembly shop into a full-fledged industrial node, anchoring a 'fence economy' where nacelle and wing suppliers operate within direct logistics proximity," Yang said.

For domestic firms, undertaking systems installation and other complex assembly work offers a route into higher-value manufacturing. Capabilities developed through international cooperation could also support their participation in domestic aircraft programs, Yang added.

Buschmann confirmed that Chinese components on Airbus aircraft have grown substantially over the past 10 to 15 years and continue to grow. Airbus is working with suppliers on qualification and expansion, while assessing new companies and emerging technologies.

"Right now, our priority is to support existing Chinese suppliers so they can grow from today's production volume to the future target rate. This is a big leap," he said.

However, the flight path is not without turbulence. Yang said the expansion would favor suppliers with specialized manufacturing capabilities, sufficient financing and the ability to serve several aircraft programs. Companies reliant on basic machining or a single customer could face greater pressure.

The growing capabilities of China's aviation industry also bring Airbus into closer competition with domestic planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China.

"COMAC is a credible competitor in the aviation industry," Buschmann said. "COMAC has achieved remarkable progress, and we fully understand the difficulties they face as they ramp up production, just as Airbus once did."

lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn