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Airbus to open second assembly line in Tianjin, China

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Expansion aims to boost A320neo production capacity

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Airbus balances trade tensions between US and China

(Adds details)

By Tim Hepher and Sophie Yu

PARIS/BEIJING, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Airbus is

poised to open a second assembly line in China with limited

fanfare this week, days after securing an extra foothold in the

United States as it walks a tightrope between divided trade

powers, industry sources said.

The second line at the port city of Tianjin near Beijing

will increase Airbus' manufacturing capability for best-selling

A320neo-family single-aisle jets, mirroring the addition of a

second line in Mobile, Alabama, just over a week ago.

Unlike the inauguration of its first non-European assembly

line, at a high-profile ceremony involving 600 guests in Tianjin

more than 15 years ago, this week's expansion will be a

relatively low-key affair with no Western media allowed.

Airbus declined to comment.

Industry sources said earlier this month that the two

back-to-back ceremonies in Mobile and then Tianjin were being

designed to avoid falling foul of a tricky trade climate between

China and the United States.

Since Airbus first announced the overseas expansion plans in

2022 and 2023, Washington and Beijing have plunged into a

months-long trade war, leaving Airbus and some other European

companies anxious to avoid offending either trade power.

Airbus relies on U.S. parts to assemble jets in China and

Europe and also depends on smooth ties with the United States,

where several of its major airline customers are based.

At the same time, Airbus has been negotiating to sell up to

500 planes to China, a goal first reported by Reuters in April.

Sources have said it is likely to secure only part of the order

to coincide with the new Tianjin factory expansion.

Boeing ( BA ) has been negotiating a similar 500-plane deal but

this remains mired in the back-and-forth discussions over trade,

industry sources said, confirming a Bloomberg report.

Airbus is increasing capacity to support higher production

of its A320neo family to 75 jets a month in 2027. Doubling

capacity at Mobile and Tianjin is part of the industrial plans.

(Writing by Tim Hepher; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and

Alexander Smith)