China may buy 50-70 Airbus A330 jets -sources

By Tim Hepher and John Irish

PARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - Airbus is in talks to sell some 50-70 A330 wide-body jets to China as part of plans to set up a new industrial plant in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, sources familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday.

Airbus has been negotiating for about 18 months to establish an A330 cabin-completion centre in China alongside its existing final assembly plant for smaller A320 jets at the northern port city of Tianjin.

The deals could be signed during a visit to Toulouse by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on July 1, senior French sources said, though industry watchers note that there have been false starts in the long-awaited planes and investment package.

Airbus declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by James Regan)