ZHUHAI China (Reuters) - European jet maker Airbus Group NV (PA:AIR) aims to double the annual value of aircraft components it sources from China to $1 billion by 2020, the firm's China Chief Operating Officer, Rafael Gonzalez-Ripoll-Garzon, said on Tuesday.
The Airbus executive's comment, made on the sidelines of China's premier airshow in Zhuhai, came as the European firm's chief rival Boeing (N:BA) said it's also seeking to ramp up China component sourcing.
Kent Fisher, Boeing Commercial Airplane's vice-president and general manager of supplier management, said that over the next few years his company is looking to double the $2 billion worth of aircraft parts it has sourced from China in total over the last 30 years. Fisher was speaking at a separate press briefing at the air show and didn't provide further details.
Boeing also said it had signed a deal with Aviation Industry Corporation of China to produce composite tail parts for the Boeing 777 program, beginning in 2017.
Airbus and Boeing have been competing fiercely in China, which will need over 6,020 new planes worth $870 million the next 20 years, according to Boeing's latest forecast.
Both have been increasing their sourcing in China, using locally made composite materials and parts like emergency doors in aircraft like the Airbus A330 and Boeing B787 jets.
(Reporting by Fang Yan and Matthew Miller; Editing by Brenda Goh and Kenneth Maxwell)