China signed contracts Thursday to buy five Airbus A380 super-jumbo jets and 25 other Airbus jetliners in a series of deals totaling more than $3.2 billion.

The deals were signed on the first day of a visit by French Premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who attended a signing ceremony with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao.

Information released by Raffarin's delegation didn't identify the airlines that are acquiring the A380s.

China Southern Airlines, the country's biggest carrier, signed a deal in January to buy five A380s, and it wasn't clear whether the governments were endorsing the same contract a second time.

Other Chinese carriers also bought 18 Airbus A320s and seven A319s, according to the French delegation. 

(CRI.com April 21, 2005)