Airbus expands A320 production in China to meet soaring demand, deepen partnerships

Airbus will expand production in China to meet surging aircraft demand and strengthen long-term partnerships, CEO Guillaume Faury said Wednesday, as the company launched a second A320 assembly line in the northern port city of Tianjin.

The new line doubles Airbus' manufacturing capacity for its best-selling A320 family aircraft in China and is expected to be fully operational by early 2026. The expansion reflects Airbus' confidence in China's booming civil aviation market, resilient supply chain, and favorable business climate.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Faury outlined the company's vision for future collaboration with Chinese partners.

"We think the demand for new planes in the next 20 years will be roughly 9,500 planes. So it's a lot. And that's why we are growing and ramping up our production here. It's to serve that demand. And we want to continue to be a trustful partner for the success of our Chinese airline partners," said Faury.

He also emphasized the company's commitment to achieving its ambitious decarbonization targets.

"Our purpose at Airbus is to pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. So we've put sustainability at the core of what we do. And we are ramping up production of the new aircraft that are by far better in terms of fuel burn -- they emit by far less carbon than the older generation. And when we are replacing older planes, we are improving the carbon footprint of aviation," Faury said.

With the opening of the new line in Tianjin, Airbus now has 10 final assembly lines of A320 family aircraft, with four in Hamburg, Germany, two in Toulouse, France, two in Mobile, Alabama, the United States, and two in Tianjin.

Inaugurated in 2008, the first A320 final assembly line in Tianjin was the first Airbus production line for commercial aircraft outside of Europe. It assembles three models in the A320 family -- the A319, A320, and A321. To date, it has assembled and delivered over 780 A320 family aircraft.

Airbus expands A320 production in China to meet soaring demand, deepen partnerships

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.

Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."

Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.

Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.

German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.

"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.

He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees