PARIS – The Chinese government has purchased 300 new aircraft from Airbus. The deal includes 290 A320s and 10 A350s. The aircraft will be assigned to various airlines in China at a later stage.

The order was signed in Paris on Monday in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron.

With the order, China wants to provide both regional low-cost airlines and the country’s major airlines – flying long-distance – with new aircraft.

Around 1,730 Airbus aircraft are currently flying for Chinese airlines. The majority – 1,455 aircraft – are smaller Airbus passenger aircraft, like A319s, A320s or A321s. In addition, the A330, A350 and A380 are employed by various major Chinese airlines.

Airbus expects that China will need 7,400 passenger and cargo aircraft in the coming 20 years. The aircraft manufacturer mainly competes with rival Boeing on the Chinese market, but the Chinese aviation industry also hopes to benefit from the growing demand for air transport.

(Top image: from JERRY TAHA AVIATION video on YouTube)