Airbus and Chinese partners agree on wide-body cooperation

Airbus and its Chinese partners, namely the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company (TJFTZ) and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), have signed a framework agreement on setting up an A330 Completion and Delivery Centre (C&DC) in Tianjin, China, taking the partnership between Airbus and China a further step forward following the successful establishment of an A320 Family Final Assembly Line and Delivery Center in the Chinese city. The framework agreement firms-up the Letter of Intent signed by the three parties last year. The A330 C&DC Tianjin will be located near the site of the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Tianjin. The C&DC will cover the aircraft completion activities including reception, cabin installation, aircraft painting, engine run and flight test, as well as aircraft delivery and customer flight acceptance. Under the project, the A330 Family aircraft to be completed at the A330 C&DC Tianjin will be assembled in Toulouse but will be painted and have their cabin furnished and installed in Tianjin. On the same occasion, Airbus has also signed a Letter of Intent with AVIC on cabin development cooperation and procurement frame contract with Zhejiang Xizi Aerospace Fastener Co., Ltd for design, development, manufacturing, and supply of standard fastener parts.