Next month Airbus will choose a Chinese city for the general
assembly line of the single-aisle aircraft A320.
Airbus is in discussions with China's?National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC)
to evaluate the advantages of the short-listed cities. The final
result will be announced at the end of March, a month later than
originally expected.
After this announcement the two sides will now negotiate details
including methods of cooperation and production volume, said
Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China.
Airbus and the NDRC signed a memorandum of understanding last
December, which included a decision to study the possibilities of
building a general assembly line of the single-aisle aircraft.
Since then, the two sides have evaluated four cities -- Shanghai,
Tianjin, Xi'an and Zhuhai.
Airbus has only two general assembly lines one in France and the
other in Germany. The venture into China will be Airbus' first
foray outside Europe.
(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2006)