Chinese airlines are considering placing a large order with European manufacturer Airbus and purchasing up to 500 aircraft from it, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.
The future deal could be announced in July, when the EU leadership and the leaders of the member states are expected to visit Beijing on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European economic bloc.
The details of the possible deal are still being discussed. According to sources of the agency, Chinese carriers may purchase from 200 to 500 aircraft, both wide-body and narrow-body. This could be the largest aviation deal for China and a potentially world-record deal.
The agency's interlocutors described the progress of the negotiations as “fluid“ and warned that they could break down or take a long time. The agency was unable to get comments from Airbus and the Civil Aviation Administration of China on the possible deal.
The Bloomberg report on the possible purchase of a large batch of Airbus aircraft by Chinese carriers appeared two months after Chinese authorities, according to media reports, ordered airlines to stop buying planes from American manufacturers. This came against the backdrop of an escalation of the trade conflict between the United States and China due to tariffs imposed by Washington. At the end of April, the CEO of the American manufacturer Boeing, Kelly Ortberg, confirmed the suspension of deliveries to China, but already in mid-May, amid the easing of tensions in the trade conflict between the US and China, Bloomberg reported that the Chinese authorities had lifted the previously imposed ban.