By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- China Aviation Supplies Holding has signed orders worth $17B for 140 jets made by European aerospace giant Airbus Group SE (EPA:AIR), according to a statement from the Chinese state-backed plane buyer cited by Reuters.
Airbus was quoted as saying that all of these are pre-existing orders. Some were also part of a previous order for 292 planes placed in July by China's so-called "Big Three" airlines - Air China (HK:0753), China Southern (HK:1055), and China Eastern (HK:0670).
The company, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, added that Friday's agreement includes 132 of its A320 planes and 8 of its A350 models.
Shares in Airbus were higher in early afternoon trading.
The announcement comes as Olaf Scholz is in Beijing to meet with China's president Xi Jinping for the first time since becoming German chancellor last year.