Alcatel-Lucent SA, Engie SA, Airbus Group SE and STMicroelectronics NV as well as other French groups yesterday signed billions worth of contracts with Chinese companies as Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) ended his three-day visit to France.
China Mobile Communication Corp (中國移動) and China Unicom (中國聯通) have committed to buy 1.4 billion euros (US$1.55 billion) worth of network equipment from Alcatel this year, the French government said in a statement listing the deals.
STMicro signed a 500 million euro deal to supply Huawei Technologies Co (華為) with electronic components until 2020. Engie signed a liquefied natural gas supply contract with Beijing Gas Group (北京燃氣) worth 100 million euros, the government said.
The deals follow an announcement on Tuesday by Airbus Group for an order from China’s state-controlled China Aviation Supply Holding Co (中國航空器材公司) for as many as 75 A330 jets worth US$18 billion at list prices. The deal, for 45 planes plus an outline agreement on options for 30 more, would help Airbus maintain monthly output levels as it transitions to a revamped A330 with new engines, avoiding deeper production cuts than planned.
Li announced the transactions during his visit. He met with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. He joined French Prime Minister Manuel Valls yesterday for a business conference and to visit the Airbus factory.
Three other contracts were also to be signed yesterday.
China and Airbus will agree to build a completion center for the manufacturer’s A330 wide-body planes, allowing China to outfit cabins and paint A330s that are destined for Chinese customers. The other two contracts concern the supply chain, though Airbus declined to offer details ahead of the signing ceremony later.
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