China receives first unpainted Airbus A350 in 2025 for finishing, delivery

TIANJIN -- An Airbus A350 aircraft without livery flew from Toulouse, France, to North China's Tianjin municipality on Tuesday, marking the first such arrival in 2025, the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said.

The jet, which completed assembly overseas, will undergo final cabin installation, painting and flight testing at the Airbus Tianjin Widebody Completion and Delivery Center (C&DC) before its delivery to the customer.

Airbus established its A320 Family Final Assembly Line Asia in Tianjin in 2008, its first production facility outside Europe. The C&DC, inaugurated in 2017 and the first of its kind outside Europe, began supporting A350 completion and delivery in 2020.

As of the end of 2024, the C&DC had delivered 767 A320 Family jets, 16 A330s and 25 A350s.

"China is Airbus' largest single-country market globally," said George Xu, Airbus executive vice-president and Airbus China CEO.

According to Xu, aircraft delivered to Chinese customers account for about 20 percent of Airbus' global annual deliveries. Additionally, the company's market share in China has risen from some 20 percent in 2008 to more than 50 percent today.

Xu said that 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Airbus civil aircraft entering the Chinese mainland market, and the company will continue working with Chinese aviation partners to promote the high-quality development of China's aviation industry.