TIANJIN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- An A320neo aircraft, the first assembled at the Airbus Final Assembly Line Asia (FALA) in north China's port city of Tianjin, was delivered to AirAsia Wednesday.
"The delivery of the A320neo is a milestone for our Asia Final Assembly Line, which will help us to meet the robust demand from the customers in China and the Asia-Pacific region," said Eric Chen Jabrill Peppers Browns Jersey , president with Airbus Commercial Aircraft China.
The Airbus FALA in Tianjin, inaugurated in 2008, is the third single-aisle aircraft final assembly line location of Airbus worldwide, following Toulouse and Hamburg.
It is also the first Airbus Final Assembly Line outside Europe. To date, about 340 aircraft have been assembled and delivered from Tianjin.
The new A320 aircraft is powered by CFM LEAP-1A and capable of carrying 186 passengers.
"We are very proud to receive the first Airbus A320neo fully assembled in Tianjin. And we would like to congratulate Airbus, as well as the Chinese Government for achieving yet another milestone Myles Garrett Browns Jersey ," said Aireen Omar, CEO with AirAsia.
"China today is one of the world's most important aviation markets, and we are honored to be part of the development and rapid growth."
She added that, as AirAsia is expanding its network and grow the fleet, it is important for the airliner to stay at the forefront of the market.
Based in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, AirAsia is Asia's leading low-cost carrier with an airline network of more than 120 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region.
It is also the largest airline customer for the A320 family. It has placed orders for a total of 578 aircraft from Airbus Nick Chubb Browns Jersey , including 404 A320neo family aircraft.
The A320neo family, the newest series of Airbus single-aisle aircraft, incorporates the latest technology such as new generation engines and sharklets, which contribute to fuel-saving and emission-reduction.
With more than 5,200 orders received from 95 customers worldwide since its launch in 2010, the A320neo family has gained around 60 percent of the market share of its class.
As of this August Denzel Ward Browns Jersey , the in-service Airbus fleet in Chinese mainland has reached 1,484, including 1,263 A320 Family aircraft.
Over the next 20 years, China will require about 6,000 new aircraft Baker Mayfield Browns Jersey , about 18 percent of total world demand, according to an Airbus forecast.
Along with the growth of its fleet in China, Airbus is expanding its industrial footprint. To date, it has five joint ventures with Chinese partners.
On Sept. 20 this year, Airbus inaugurated its A330 Completion and Delivery Center (CDC) in Tianjin, the first such center for its wide-body aircraft outside Europe.
The center will complete tasks such as cabin installation Joe Thomas Youth Jersey , painting and flight testing, as well as customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery, according to Airbus.
"We have set a clear target of making Tianjin as our base in Asia to serve for the region with Chinese partners. Airbus will gain more competitiveness by non-stop innovation," said Chen.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday pledged 60 million U.S. dollars as bilateral aid to shore up a joint military force of five Sahel countries, but remained cautious over UN involvement.
The announcement was made separately U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley as the Security Council was holding a debate over the newly established joint military force of five Sahel countries Jim Brown Youth Jersey , known as "G5 Sahel."
Tillerson said the money will bolster the capacity of those African countries in their fight against terrorism. "This is a fight we must win, and these funds will play a key role in achieving that mission," he said in a statement.
Haley told the Security Council debate: "We are proud to announce today that we plan to provide up to 60 million dollars in bilateral assistance, which we will work with our Congress to identify, to help stand up the joint force."
She indicated her country's wariness toward UN involvement. "We understand the force will need ongoing support and are eager for opportunities to work closely with our partners to make this effort a successful one. But we believe that the G5 force must be, first and foremost Zane Gonzalez Youth Jersey , owned by the countries of the region themselves. We expect that the G5 countries will take on full regional ownership of the force within a period of three to six years, with continued U.S. engagement. This is the approach that will be most effective, in the end, in freeing the region from terror."
It seemed that Haley was cool on the idea of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the G5 joint force and the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, one of the five Sahel countries, could be "mutually reinforcing."
"We are inspired by the region's effort and intent Howard Wilson Youth Jersey , but we have reservations about encumbering a large peacekeeping mission with tasks it would not traditionally perform. The mission in Mali has struggled to reach its full troop authorization. It continues to suffer from a lack of enabling equipment, and it expends most of its resources protecting and re-supplying itself. What is more, the mission is coming under increasing attack from violent extremists and shifting operations and locations. For these reasons, the mission struggles to execute its strategic objective -- to support the peace process in Mali. Its ability to focus on its core objective could be further compromised by a mandate to support a force with a broad concept of operations and recurring needs. We owe it to the troops as well as those who have lost their lives to protect the mission's vital resources from further overstretch and ensure they are devoted to supporting a political solution in Mali."