Airbus and AVIC jointly won the "Best Partner" award at the 13th Aerospace Laureate Awards held during the 2018 China Airshow in the southern coastal city Zhuhai, China.

The industrial cooperation between Airbus and AVIC dates back to 1985. Aerospatiale, currently Airbus France, signed first product sub-contracting agreement in 1985 with Xi'an Aircraft Company on manufacturing and assembling access doors for Airbus A300/A310 wide-body aircraft.

With over 1,640 aircraft operated by Chinese airlines, China becomes the largest market for Airbus in terms of fleet numbers. China is not a market to Airbus, but a long-term strategic partner and an integral part of Airbus global supply chain, according to Francois Mery.

Airbus has set up a wide range of industrial cooperation projects with AVIC companies including raw material, parts and components, engineering and advanced manufacturing and final assembly.

Contributed by Airbus