China Aviation Supplies Holding Company and Airbus have signed a record deal worth 35 billion U.S. dollars in Paris on Monday for the purchase of 290 narrow-body A320 and 10 wide-body A350 XWB aircraft.

A screenshot of the Airbus website. [Photo: China Plus]

President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of the deal with French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony in France during this week's state visit by the Chinese leader.

China Aviation Supplies announced news of the deal on its website, saying that air transportation had grown rapidly in China in recent years. "In order to meet the developing needs of our enterprises and address demand in the air transportation market, we decided to purchase a batch of Airbus aircraft to expand our carrying capacity."

File photo of A350 XWB. [Photo: IC]

In an announcement on the company's website, the President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft said "We are honored to support the growth of China's civil aviation with our leading aircraft families – single-aisle and wide-bodies. Our expanding footprint in China demonstrates our lasting confidence in the Chinese market and our long-term commitment to China and our partners."

The latest Airbus forecast on China's aviation market shows that some 7,400 new passenger and freight aircraft will be needed over the next 20 years, which will account for 19 percent of global demand.

File photo of Airbus A320. [Photo: IC]

As of the start of this year, 1,730 Airbus aircraft were in service with airlines in China, including 1,455 of the A320 and 17 of the A350 XWB.