Global aviation firms hope Beijing business is unscathed by China-EU trade rows

Trade tensions between China and the European Union have intensified, but leading European aviation and drone manufacturers hope their impact on bilateral aviation trade and cooperation will be limited.

“Airbus Helicopters and Airbus as a company work a lot with China … On the civil side, we have very good cooperation with China,” Huberdeau said while showcasing the company’s latest multi-mission VSR700 naval unmanned aerial system (UAS) helicopter at Eurosatory.

“We’ve been developing helicopters with the Chinese authorities. We sold a lot of helicopters in China. So I don’t think this will be linked [to the trade tensions].”

China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris last month, pledging to deepen cooperation in aviation and relevant emerging sectors.

Airbus was in talks with China over a potentially major aircraft order, Reuters reported in April.

But the rising trade tensions have triggered concern about potential retaliatory measures from Beijing, including against the aviation sector.

Another Airbus official, who asked not to be named, also forecast that the EU’s trade tensions with China would have little impact on the company’s business.

“We have many opportunities in Asia-Pacific. It’s difficult to find one country where our products are not operating at this moment. It is a good footprint for extending the area of operation,” the official said.

Airbus is showcasing uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Eurosatory this week. Among the rotary and fixed-wing systems displayed are the Eurodrone – a combat UAV in joint development between France, Germany, Italy and Spain – which the Airbus official said was aimed to be in service by 2030 and could be exported to other regions, including the Asia-Pacific.

Beijing said the commission was weaponising trade with China by “holding high the banner of green development in one hand and wielding the stick of ‘protectionism’ in the other”.

Matthew Knowles, spokesman for Britain’s largest defence contractor, BAE Systems, similarly said European defence contractors’ business in the Asia-Pacific remained largely unchanged despite tensions rising between China and the EU.

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BAE Systems displayed not only land-based weapons, such as howitzers and infantry vehicles, at Eurosatory but also showcased its ongoing emphasis on drone technology, such as the T-650 heavy-lift electric unmanned aerial system, which it said could be a “cost-effective, sustainable rapid response capability to military, security and civilian customers”.

Knowles said there were “a lot of conversations” during BAE Systems’ drone display at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Malaysia last month.