Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan attended construction-launching ceremony of European aircraft maker Airbus' A320 assembly line in north China's port city Tianjin on May 15.

Tang said at the ceremony that China has always been attaching great importance to China-Europe relationship and devoted to strengthening cooperation in all sectors between the two parties.

The assembly line reflects the cooperation partnership between China and Europe, Tang said, adding that it will help promote the aviation development of China and Europe.

The plant in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, the first for Airbus outside Europe, is expected to start operating in August next yearand have an annual capacity of 44 aircraft in 2011, sources with the project said.

The project includes assembly workshops, power stations, hangars and outdoor facilities. The main body of the assembly workshop will be completed at the end of this year.

Airbus will hold a majority 51 percent stake in the Tianjin assembly facility, while the rest will be held by Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Co., an entity comprised of investors such as Hafei Aviation Industry Co. and Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co., both affiliated to AVIC II, Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Co., and China Aviation Industry Corp. One (AVIC I), the other leading Chinese aircraft maker.

Total investment in the project is estimated at eight billion to ten billion yuan (US$1.04 billion to US$1.3 billion).