The head of Airbus China has warned that the US-China trade conflict will hurt the prospects of China's aviation industry.

George Xu, chief executive of Airbus’s China operations, speaking at a biannual aerospace forum in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Tuesday, said he was looking forward to seeing United States and Chinese trade officials "have an open conversation with each other and resolve the [trade] issue as soon as possible”. He said such discussions “will help the healthy development of China’s aviation industry as well as benefit Airbus.” 

Mr Xu warned that the trade war had damaged the commercial expectations of many private companies, and that it will cause higher unemployment as well as threatening incomes for middle class Chinese citizens. “Also, this of course will have a negative impact on aviation growth,” he added.