China's aviation suppliers are becoming increasingly important to Airbus' global production expansion, offering manufacturing expertise and supply-chain resilience as the European aircraft maker seeks to meet growing demand, senior executives and industry experts said.

The deepening industrial partnership was highlighted on Wednesday when Airbus delivered an A320neo to China Eastern Airlines, the first aircraft assembled at its second final assembly line in Tianjin.

"We are very happy about the resilience we see in the Chinese supply chain. We have resilient, very professional, very good suppliers and we very much enjoy working with them," said Erik Buschmann, Airbus senior vice-president and Airbus China chief operating officer, at the delivery ceremony. "This helps us stay competitive in China."

The localization of A321 fuselage systems installation in Tianjin offers an example of these operational gains, said Yang Hangjun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics and president of the China Chapter of the Air Transport Research Society.

"Completing system assembly adjacent to the final assembly line cuts inventory turnover by at least two months and reduces capital tied up in transit. It transforms Tianjin from an assembly shop into a full-fledged industrial node, anchoring a 'fence economy' where nacelle and wing suppliers operate within direct logistics proximity," Yang said. Read more>>