The European aircraft maker will also increase its procurements from, and enhance technology transfer to, China.

"If we continue on our current growth trend, it will take us eight years to control 50 percent of the Chinese market," said Laurence Barron, Airbus China president.

"But we want to be there earlier, and we want to be more aggressive."

Airbus has steadily ramped up its fleet in China with a market share increasing from 7 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 2005. Its US rival Boeing still holds the rest of the market.

The European company sold its first plane to China in 1985, while Boeing had a 13-year head start.

"The year 2005 is quite a significant year for us, not only globally, but particularly in China," Barron said at a press briefing yesterday at the Aviation Expo/China 2005.

"It is the 20th anniversary of the successful cooperation of Airbus with China's aviation industry, with the first Airbus aircraft delivered to China Eastern Airlines in 1985," Barron said.

Airbus has received 69 orders from five Chinese airlines this year to the end of August.

The orders comprise of five A380s from China Southern Airlines, 30 A330 family aircraft and 34 A320 family aircraft from Air China, China Eastern, Shenzhen and Sichuan airlines.

"We expect the total delivery of Airbus aircraft to China to reach 65 by the end of this year," Barron said.

"We are expected to manufacture 360 jets this year, which means one-sixth of our planes this year are coming to China."

Barron said Airbus would concentrate on the sales of A330 aircraft to China in the next five years. But over the long term, he said China would also be a big market for its A380 Superjumboand A350, a challenger to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

The A380 double-decker took off on its maiden flight in April and is expected to enter service in 2006.

So far, Boeing has offered no direct challenger to the Superjumbo. Airbus will launch the A350 programme next month and the long-range midsize airplane will be delivered from 2010.

Barron also re-affirmed that Airbus does not only sell aircraft to China, but also "forges a full risk-sharing partnership" with its Chinese counterparts.

Airbus plans to increase its procurement volume in China from the current US$15 million per annum to US$60 million per annum by 2007 and US$120 million by 2010, he said.

The aircraft maker also plans to lease the whole wing production of the A320 to China by 2007, he said.

China will take up 5 per cent of the airframe work share in the latest A350 project and 10 percent of a future Airbus project, he added.

Airbus, in July launched the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Centre, the company's second largest engineering centre outside Europe after the one in the United States.

The centre, 25 percent owned by AVIC II, will design parts for the Airbus A350.

Boeing has 71 orders from China so far this year, among which 60 are for 787, according to the company's website. But there was no comment on this from Boeing yesterday.

Airbus' global deliveries have outperformed Boeing since 2003.

(China Daily September 22, 2005)