China has been a big buyer for airplane producers.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Thursday said that the company has not canceled the orders in its order book from China, but is keeping a low profile on those orders as they are not approved yet, due to China's opposition to the European Union's decision to charge airlines for their carbon emissions.

"The status of the orders from China that have been included in Airbus order book has not changed," Airbus said in an e-mailed response to the Global Times Thursday, "We don't communicate about ongoing negotiations with customers or orders that are subject to government approval."

Airbus China's response came after German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on March 1 that China has postponed the order of 35 A330 aircraft to increase its bargaining power in negotiations with the EU on the carbon tax.

Chinese airlines' aircraft orders need to be approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, a person familiar with the matter told the Global Times yesterday on condition of anonymity.

"The orders for 35 A330 aircraft in question might belong to the orders that have been agreed upon by the airlines but not approved by the commission yet," said the source. "The report on postponement is a possible signal of China's opposition to the EU carbon tax."

On February 22, China and 28 other countries signed in Moscow a joint declaration opposing the European scheme that forces all airlines to pay for their carbon emissions.

As for another report claiming that Hong Kong Airlines has canceled an order for 10 Airbus superjumbo A380 jets, Airbus China yesterday said that "there is no change to the status of the order from Hong Kong Airlines, which was included in our end-of-year order book."

"A loss in China business is the last thing companies want to see amid disputes between the EU and China," Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, told the Global Times yesterday.

Last month, Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said at an aviation conference in Singapore that he's "very worried that new EU carbon emission charges for airlines could spark a trade war between Europe and the rest of the world."

China has been a big buyer for airplane producers. For A330 alone, there were a total of 86 aircraft in service in China operated by Air China, China Southern, and Sichuan Airlines by the end of January this year.

China is likely to approve the orders for Airbus in the end as the country currently does not have a better choice to buy planes, given that the US is preparing to impose duties on subsidized goods from China which may lead to tensions between the two sides, Cao Yin, a consultant with Frost and Sullivan, told the Global Times yesterday. "China is still dependent on imports for its aircraft demand."

China Air Transport Association, a key industry association which filed a lawsuit against the EU over the EU decision to impose the carbon tax, could not be reached for comment by press time.