Airbus sells 140 jets to China for $22.8B

July 5 (UPI) -- Airbus signed a contract with China on Wednesday to sell 140 jets for $22.8 billion.

Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreement while in Berlin, Germany, ahead of the G20 summit, the European plane manufacturer said. State-owned China Aviation Supplies Holding Company purchased the planes and will allocate them to Chinese airlines over the next five to six years.

Bloomberg reported the $22.8 billion sale is based on list prices of the planes.

"This is a great endorsement of our leading products in both the single-aisle and wide-body segments," Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said. "China is today one of the world's most important markets for aviation, and we are honored to support the development and rapid growth of China's civil aviation with our competitive product portfolio."

By the end of May, Chinese operators had about 1,440 Airbus aircraft, including 1,230 A320 Family planes.

The agreement is for 100 A320 Family aircraft and 40 A350 XWB Family planes.

The A320 Family seats from 100 to 240 passengers and is the world's best-selling, single-aisle product line with more than 13,000 orders and more than 7,600 aircraft delivered to about 400 customers and operators worldwide, the company said in a release.

By the end of May 2017, the in-service Airbus fleet with Chinese operators totaled some 1,440 aircraft, of which nearly 1,230 are A320 Family planes.

The A350 is a twin-aisle plane.

Airbus produces narrow-body planes in Tianjin, east of Beijing, and the manufacture of the A320s will be split between that site and Europe, according to Enders.

Bloomberg reported talks are underway for China to more A380s, the double-deck plane that is the word's largest passenger plane. China Southern Airlines Co. has five of those jumbo planes, and they seat 506 in various classes, according to SeaGuru.