Airbus to Consider Building Jets in China

Airplane manufacturer Airbus said yesterday it will study the possibility of building an assembly line for its aircraft in China, a first for the company. All Airbus planes are currently assembled in Toulouse, France or Hamburg, Germany. According to a Reuters report, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China agreed to a feasibility study for the project at the start of a European trip on which China ordered 70 A320-family Airbus aircraft worth $5 billion.
The report added that Airbus will quadruple the value of components it buys in China to $120 million by 2010. The company has already promised China a 5% share of the work to build the fuselage of its latest model, the mid-size A350.