Airbus has appointed George Xu as chief executive of its China unit, as Airbus Commercial Aircraft China president Eric Chen takes over as chairman of Airbus China.

In his role, Xu will be responsible for all Airbus commercial aircraft activities, as well as lead the firm's helicopters and defence and space businesses in the country.

Xu was formerly director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone. He was chairman of the board of the A320 final assembly line in Tianjin while also holding the position of vice-president of the Tianjin Free Trade Administrative Committee from 2011 to 2014.

"I feel honoured to rejoin Airbus China as its CEO. China has the largest Airbus fleet in the world and will continue as one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the next decades," says Xu. "I am confident China will continue to play a key role in Airbus' global strategy."

Chen, who was appointed president in 2013, succeeds Laurence Barron.

Source: Cirium Dashboard