Airbus agreed to construct a new assembly line in China on Thursday, tripling its capacity in the world's second-largest aviation market, as it received approval from Beijing to proceed with 160 previously announced jet orders.

CEO Guillaume Faury signed the agreements in front of media during French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Beijing.

Airbus reported the sale of 292 planes to China last year, where commercial jet purchases must be approved by the government before planes can be delivered.

Macron's office stated in a statement that the new "general terms agreement" allowed for the delivery of 160 aircraft.

However, the absence of new business falls short of certain expectations prior to the trip, which one official in Macron's office had stated would not simply consist of repackaging previous announcements.

According to industry insiders, Airbus is still negotiating fresh jet orders on the sidelines of Macron's trip, but no imminent announcement is planned.

China used to divide aircraft purchases between Airbus and Boeing, but negotiations with the American planemaker have stalled as tensions between Beijing and Washington have risen.

Airbus has been building A320-family jets in Tianjin, China, since 2008.

According to a prior industrial agreement published in 2018, existing plans aim for a monthly capacity of six planes.

On paper, the new line will more than quadruple this capacity, depending on the type and complexity of model being constructed.

China controls more than 20% of the aircraft market and is also introducing its own competitor jet, the C919, into service.

After protracted COVID-19 lockdowns, Chinese air travel is resuming, with domestic traffic returning to pre-pandemic levels since March, and foreign traffic at around 30% of 2019 levels.