European aerospace and defence giant EADS, the parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus, might build an aircraft assembly line in China, co-chief executive Noel Forgeard has told French newspaper Le Monde.
"The more planes we sell, the more we will produce in Europe, even if it is not excluded that we would build an aircraft assembly line in China," he said in an interview to appear on Wednesday.
Airbus, which is owned jointly by EADS and British defence group BAE Systems, already has a network of sub-contractors in China to give it a presence in a key market.
Airbus has forecast that potential sales in the next 20 years to China could reach 1,600, including 200 of its super-jumbo A380 model, the world's biggest civil airliner.
Rival Boeing estimates that demand from China could be in the order of 2,000 aircraft in the next 20 years.
Already, the Chinese aerospace industry is expected to have a five percent stake in the development of Airbus's new mid-sized A350 aircraft, and Chinese companies are also part of the manufacturing process for the smaller A320 model, an Airbus spokeswoman said.
Chinese participation in the manufacture of the A320 is set to increase, the spokeswoman added.
The number of Chinese air passengers increased by 16 percent to 122 million in 2004, making the country the third-biggest air travel market in the world after Europe and the United States.
