Airbus to set up China research center to boost innovation

NANJING -- Airbus will establish the Airbus China Research Center in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, to strengthen the company's footprint and innovation partnerships in China, the company announced Friday.

Airbus and Suzhou Industrial Park signed a framework agreement on Friday on the establishment of the center. The new move by Airbus is aimed at reaffirming its long-term commitment to cooperating with and investing in China, according to Airbus China.

"China not only has a promising aviation market, but also has advanced technological advantages in many fields," said George Xu, executive vice president of Airbus and chief executive officer of Airbus China.

"Airbus hopes to jointly contribute to the high-quality development of China's aviation industry by taking advantage of the high-quality business environment, unique industry chain and talent pool here," Xu said.

The Airbus China Research Center is located in China's Yangtze River Delta, one of the country's economic hubs.

It will carry out research work on advanced technologies, such as hydrogen energy infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and the aviation industry's upgrading with digitalization and intelligence. It is due to start operations in 2023, said the company.

Airbus also said it is committed to leading the decarbonization of the aerospace sector, and aims to develop the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035, which is consistent with China's goal to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Established in 1994, Suzhou Industrial Park has attracted a dozen high-tech enterprises in fields such as AI, biomedicine, nanotechnology and intelligent manufacturing.

In recent years, Suzhou has been striving to seize the strategic opportunities of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and build a highland for its aerospace industry.

Suzhou seeks to gather more than 500 enterprises in the aerospace industry chain, with operating income reaching 60 billion yuan (about $9 billion) by 2023.