Airbus announced on Wednesday that it has opened a second assembly line in China, enhancing manufacturing capacity for its best-selling A320neo family of single-aisle jets.
The new line completes a puzzle of 10 global final assembly lines that Airbus claims will partake in a production drive, including two lines each in the U.S. and China.
The second Chinese line, located in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing, is expected to be fully operational in early 2026, according to a statement from the European planemaker.
Its inauguration comes just over a week after Airbus opened a second final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury stated that the second Tianjin production line would provide the planemaker with the “flexibility and capacity we need to reach our target of 75 A320-family aircraft per month by 2027,” as he reiterated a global production goal.
Analysts estimate that Airbus is currently producing about 60 of the single-aisle planes per month. The A320neo family competes against Boeing’s 737 MAX and Chinese planemaker COMAC’s C919 models, which have lower production rates.
Faury attended an opening ceremony at the Tianjin factory, which featured giant European Union and Chinese flags behind the speakers.
A day earlier, Faury met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, as stated by the ministry.
During the meeting, Wang emphasized that rising economic fragmentation and unilateral, protectionist moves were unsettling global trade and adding instability and uncertainty, the ministry reported on Wednesday.
Airbus committed to expanding its presence in China and contributing to China-France and China-Europe trade ties, the ministry added. Airbus declined to comment on details of the meeting.
Industry sources mentioned this month that the back-to-back line-opening ceremonies in Mobile and Tianjin were designed to avoid offending a delicate trade climate between China and the United States.
Since Airbus first announced the overseas expansion plans in 2022 and 2023, Washington and Beijing have been embroiled in a months-long trade war, leaving Airbus and some other European companies anxious to avoid upsetting either trade power.
