China's Xi'an Aircraft Industry (XAC) will deliver the first set of fully equipped wings to Airbus' A320 aircraft final assembly line in north China's Tianjinin the first quarter of next year, China Daily reported Wednesday.

The wing equipping work will start next month in Tianjin at a site close to the final assembly line, the newspaper said, citing Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China.

The A320 wing is the largest and most complicated Airbus aircraft component a Chinese company has ever made. China is Airbus' only wing manufacturer outside Europe. Currently, XAC manufactures the A320 wing box structures in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and ships them to the United Kingdom for installation of moving parts and systems.

Airbus will also create a logistics center in Tianjin to harmonize the transport systems for all aircraft components flowing in and out of China, Barron said.

More than half of the Airbus worldwide fleet has components produced in China. The Chinese suppliers are located across the country and handle their own logistics.

The total annual value of Airbus' procurement in China reached over US$100 million last year and is expected to touch US$200 million in 2010 and US$450 million in 2015, according to the newspaper.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2009)