Xinhua All-Media + | “+1”: Airbus Europe casts a vote of confidence in China!

Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, November 9 (Reporter Liang Zi) — On November 9, the Airbus A321 aircraft officially began production at the Asia final assembly line for the A320 family of aircraft located in Tianjin. The first A321 aircraft is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of next year.

From “320” to “321,” the mass production in China of one of the world’s most popular Airbus models isn’t just a simple addition of a “1” to its model designation—it also represents a vote of confidence from foreign investors, led by Europe’s Airbus, in China.

The A321 is one of the models in Airbus’s A320 family. This model can meet the demands of both domestic hub-and-spoke air routes and better serve popular routes along the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the Airbus Tianjin final assembly line, the first Airbus A321 aircraft has been rolled out and begun final assembly.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the global aviation industry has been widely impacted. According to IATA’s forecast, the global aviation industry will continue to post losses in 2022. Against this backdrop, China’s “14th Five-Year Plan for Civil Aviation Development” projects that by 2025, passenger traffic will reach 930 million trips, and the average number of air trips per Chinese resident per year will rise from 0.47 in 2019 to 0.67.

In July of this year, several Chinese airlines placed orders with Airbus for a total of 292 A320NEO series aircraft, to replace retired planes and expand their fleets. Airbus stated that, viewed from a single country perspective, China will remain the world’s largest market for new aircraft demand over the next 20 years.

Not only the aviation industry, but also according to the 2022 “China Business Environment Survey Report” by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, six out of ten member companies rank China among the top three global investment destinations for their near-term investment plans, and two-thirds of member companies plan to increase their investments in China this year.

Foreign-invested enterprises “vote with their feet” and “vote with their investments,” relying on stable expectations of China’s economy maintaining steady growth and its consumer market remaining vibrant.

A set of data speaks volumes: From 2013 to 2021, China’s average contribution to global economic growth reached 38.6%, exceeding the combined contribution of the Group of Seven countries. The share of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing in the value-added of industrial enterprises above a designated size rose from 9.4% and 28% in 2012 to 15.1% and 32.4% in 2021, respectively.

Foreign investors’ confidence in China also stems from the country’s firm commitment to a green development philosophy. The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is currently being held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. China continues to firmly implement its national strategy for actively addressing climate change, having established a “1+N” policy framework for peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, and has made a series of new deployments and arrangements.

Guided by the “dual-carbon” goals, China has set forth a vision for achieving carbon-neutral growth in commercial aviation by 2035 and for gradually bringing airport carbon emissions to a peak plateau. Additionally, China has specified binding reduction targets for airlines’ fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Through deep integration with Chinese enterprises, foreign companies have successfully put their green technology innovation capabilities into practice. This September, Airbus used sustainable aviation fuel in China for the first time, and it will be used for delivery flights at Airbus Tianjin...

Xu Gang, Airbus’ Global Executive Vice President and CEO of Airbus China, stated that despite the ongoing pandemic, Airbus has never slowed down its pace of development in China. The launch of production for the Airbus A321 aircraft in Tianjin demonstrates Airbus and European companies’ confidence in China’s economy and Chinese market.

With the support of endowments such as a complete industrial and supply chain, well-developed infrastructure, and a concentration of high-tech talent, China—pursuing a strategy of mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and openness—will surely gain even greater global confidence that goes far beyond simply “adding just one more.”