26 November 2007

CHN: China agrees to buy 160 Airbus planes: source in talks

BEIJING, Nov 26 AFP - China has agreed to buy 160 Airbus planes in a deal worth more than $US17 billion ($A19.34 billion) to be signed today during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Beijing, a source involved in the talks said.

The purchase will include 110 planes from the short-haul A320 family and 50 A330 wide-body passenger airliners, according to the source.

The deal was reached after frantic negotiations before the signing ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People later today.

Publisher- AAP Newswire