Airbus and China are strengthening their long-standing partnership as both sides commit to a further deepening and broadening of cooperation in the aviation industry.

A memorandum on the further development of industrial cooperation was signed in Beijing by He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, and Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive.

The deal was signed in the presence of Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and visiting French president, Emmanuel Macron, earlier.

According to the deal, both sides have agreed to take practical and effective measures for new initiatives regarding both Airbus single-aisle and widebody aircraft.

As part of Airbus’ objective to reach a global A320 family production rate of 63 aircraft per month in 2021, the Airbus Tianjin A320 family final assembly line remains on track to ramp up its production to six aircraft per month by the end of 2019.

This is a 50 per cent increase compared to its original design.

A350 XWB capabilities will also be extended into the Airbus Tianjin wide-body completion and delivery centre from the second half of 2020.

The centre is scheduled to deliver its first A350 aircraft by 2021 from Tianjin.

“We attach great importance to our long-term strategic partnership with China and its aviation industry,” said Faury.

“Airbus is committed to serving this growth sector with the diverse portfolio it has to offer and we are committed to working with our Chinese partners to shape the future of the industry.”

The potential of China’s aviation market is huge.

While the domestic market is set to become the world’s largest market, international traffic to and from China has nearly doubled over the last ten years.

According to the Airbus Global Market Forecast, China is expected to require some 7,560 new aircraft over the next 20 years.