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Airbus draws line at giving China means of production in widebody market

AIRBUS has said No to helping China set up a plant to make twin-aisle jets such as the A330 and A350 under Chinese control, reports Bloomberg News.

"We've no joint venture with Chinese partners to support in the development of a competitor," said Fabrice Bregier, who heads Airbus in Tianjin.

Mr Bregier said Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) is seen as "a very real competitor" that could become formidable sooner than the 20 years once envisaged.

Airbus and Boeing face a dilemma as they sell in the Chinese aviation market that's expected to become the world's biggest in the next two decades.

Both dangle the prospect of manufacturing work without agreeing to a degree of technology transfer that might threaten their industry leadership.

Airbus and Boeing have enjoyed a duopoly in making large jets since the US company bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and Russian output faded after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 2008 Airbus opened an assembly plant in Tianjin for the 1980s-vintage, single-aisle A320, where AVIC bolts together imported structures.

"We do not cooperate with Comac," Mr Bregier said. "We don't want to cooperate with Comac. We're not producing engines, we're not producing electric equipment, we've no joint venture with Chinese partners to support in the development of a competitor."

At a short ceremony breaking ground on the finishing centre, Mr Bregier sat with officials from the Aviation Industry Corp of China, the Tianjin municipality and China's top economic planning agency against a bright red backdrop emblazoned with an image of the A330.

Airbus will perform painting and cabin-fitting work for the wide-body jet at the new plant, as well as assembling four A320s a month at its existing Tianjin facility for narrow-body planes. Rival Boeing also is looking to open a single-aisle finishing centre in China.

The A330 completion centre, the company's first for wide-body jets outside of Europe, "marks a new milestone for Airbus's international footprint and underlines the strong cooperation with our Chinese partners", Mr Bregier said.