Airbus will announce the Chinese production site for its A320-family single-aisle aircraft next month, making China the first country assembling Airbus jets outside of Europe.

The four candidate cities are Tianjin, Shanghai, Xi'an of Shaanxi Province and Zhuhai of Guangdong Province.

The European aircraft giant said details of its partnership with the Chinese aviation industry, including the annual production volume and the name of its partner, would be made public by the middle of the year.

Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, made the remarks last Friday on the sidelines of the delivery of two A319s to Shenzhen Airlines.

Airbus and the National Development and Reform Commission of China began studying the feasibility of setting up an assembly line in China shortly after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to France at the end of last year.

Currently five affiliates of China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) and AVIC II are producing parts for Airbus aircraft. The aircraft is assembled in France and Germany.

At the same time, Barron said Airbus will sign official agreement with AVIC I and AVIC about details of the work share of the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Centre in the first half of this year.

The engineering centre was set up last July and will design the A350 parts to be manufactured in China. The agreement will decide which part of the ultra-long range A350 will be designed at the centre.

Airbus has agreed to allocate up to 5 percent of the work share to China.

The centre will be a joint venture in which AVIC II holds a 25-per-cent share, AVIC I takes 5 percent and Airbus holds the rest, Barron said earlier last year.

The double-decker A380 will be showcased at Asian Aerospace 2006 beginning today in Singapore, Airbus said in a newsletter yesterday.

It said the super jumbo would fly to China for the first time later this year during the sixth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.

"If possible, we would also like to have a tour for the A380 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," Airbus said.

Airbus plans to deliver about 80 aircraft to China in 2006, Barron said. Last year the Toulouse-based company delivered 65 planes to Chinese airlines, a 20 percent year-on-year rise, accounting for one-fifth of its global delivery.

Shenzhen Airlines will have six A320 family aircraft in service this year including the two new A319s that arrived last Friday.

(China Daily February 21, 2006)