China buys 140 Airbus passenger planes timed with German Chancellor Scholz's visit to China

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyun-jung] China has signed a contract to purchase 140 passenger aircraft from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, coinciding with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to China.

According to local media including Jiemian News on the 5th, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CASC), which oversees China's civil aircraft purchases, announced this via its Weixin account the previous day. CASC particularly emphasized that this contract was concluded during Chancellor Scholz's visit to China. The aircraft purchased by China include 132 A320s and 8 A350s, with the contract amounting to $17 billion (approximately 24.055 trillion KRW).

CASC stated, "The air transport market is gradually recovering and is expected to maintain stable and rapid growth in the future," adding, "This measure is to respond to the development of the aviation market and to meet transportation demand."

China's state-owned airlines China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China previously announced in July that they had signed a contract to purchase 292 A320 aircraft for $37.2 billion (approximately 52.6 trillion KRW). In September, Xiamen Airlines, a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines, ordered 40 A320neo family aircraft (about 6.8 trillion KRW). Xiamen Airlines had previously only operated American Boeing passenger aircraft.

Chancellor Scholz visited China on the 4th, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to discuss bilateral economic cooperation measures and exchange views on international situations such as the Ukraine crisis and the Taiwan issue. Regarding Russia's mention of nuclear weapons, Scholz criticized by saying it "crosses the line." Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that President Xi responded by saying, "China and Germany both oppose the use of nuclear weapons or any threats in the Ukraine war." However, President Xi did not directly criticize Russia.

After the dialogue with President Xi, Scholz stated, "Germany and China agree that nuclear threats are irresponsible and provocative," adding, "Russia, by bringing up nuclear weapons, has crossed the line and forced the international community to unite." He also said, "Like the United States and other countries, Germany supports the One-China principle," but added, "However, any change in the status quo of the Taiwan issue must be peaceful and mutually agreed upon."