BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Forty years after delivering its first aircraft to the Chinese mainland, Airbus is eyeing further growth in the biggest single-country market for its aircraft.

Currently, about 2,200 Airbus planes are in service in China, accounting for more than 50 percent of China's civil aviation market, compared with less than 10 percent in 1995, according to Airbus China.

Despite decades of rapid development, China's aviation industry is far from saturation and still has huge potential for growth, said George Xu, Airbus executive vice president and CEO of Airbus China. Airbus estimates that China will need approximately 9,000 new planes over the next 20 years.

As an example of high-tech cooperation between China and Europe, the collaboration between Airbus and China encompasses research and development, manufacturing and final assembly, operational support, dismantling, and recycling after retirement.

Since its launch in 2008, the Tianjin Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) has produced about one-third of the more than 2,000 Airbus aircraft currently in service in China's fleet, and has also delivered planes to customers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The second A320 Family FAL in Tianjin is expected to be completed by the end of this year and start production early next year, which is expected to double its production capacity in China.

Currently, approximately 200 suppliers in China support the production of Airbus' commercial aircraft, with the total value of such industrial cooperation exceeding 1 billion U.S. dollars a year, according to Airbus China.

As part of the celebrations marking 40 years of Airbus' business in China, a refurbishment project for the first Airbus aircraft -- an A310 -- that was delivered to China in 1985 and retired in 2006, was jointly launched by Airbus, the China Civil Aviation Science Popularization Foundation, and the Civil Aviation Museum in Beijing on June 25.

Cooperation between Airbus and China is a win-win model, which not only has contributed to China's aviation industry and the global aviation industry chain but also has significantly increased Airbus' market share in China, while enhancing its competitiveness and industrial resilience, said Xu.

"China's suppliers, such as Aviation Industry Corporation of China and many private enterprises, have shown strong competitiveness. On the basis of competitiveness, we will deepen cooperation with various suppliers and cooperate with China's supply chain to achieve a win-win situation," said Xu. "I believe that China will play a very important role in helping to strengthen the global aviation supply chain in the future."

In the future, there is much potential to be tapped in terms of cooperation in decarbonization, digitalization and intelligence, said Xu, adding that China has many strengths in these areas.

"Airbus is committed to being a trustworthy long-term partner of China's civil aviation and contributing more to the high-quality development of China's civil aviation," Xu said. Enditem