Airbus and China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) signed a General Terms Agreement (GTA) covering the purchase of a total of 300 Airbus aircraft by Chinese airlines.

The GTA comprises of 290 A320 Family aircraft and 10 A350 XWB Family aircraft.

The deal is worth an estimated £26 billion (€30 billion/$34 billion), according to reports.

The GTA was signed in Paris by Guillaume Faury, President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft and future Airbus CEO, and Jia Baojun, Chairman of CAS, in the presence of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We are honoured to support the growth of China’s civil aviation with our leading aircraft families – single-aisle and widebodies,” said Airbus’ Faury. “Our expanding footprint in China demonstrate our lasting confidence in the Chinese market and our long-term commitment to China and our partners.”

Demand in China

According to Airbus’ latest China Market Forecast 2018 to 2037, China will need some 7,400 new passenger and freighters aircraft in the next 20 years. It represents more than 19% of the world total demand for over 37,400 new aircraft.

By the end of January 2019, the in-service Airbus fleet with Chinese operators totalled some 1,730 aircraft, of which 1,455 are A320 Family, and 17 are A350 XWB Family planes.

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