BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer announced here Thursday that it will extend investment in aircraft crew training and support in China for another 20 years.

    The company made the pledge to continue cooperation with the China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corporation (CASC) at a ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of the CASC/Airbus Customer Services Training and Support Center.

    Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, said Airbus and CASC had agreed to invest 80 million U.S. dollars to establish the center in 1996, focusing on air and ground crew training, and maintenance, testing and moving of spare parts.

    To date, more than 10,000 aviation crew including pilots in China had trained at the center.

    The center had contributed to the improvement of qualifications of engineers and crew in China's aviation sector, said Yang Guoqing, deputy director of China's General Administration of Civil Aviation.

    The largest and most advanced training and support center of Airbus in the Asia-Pacific region, it provides a 24-hour service.

    By the end of March, the number of Airbus aircraft operating inChina was 264, taking the company's market share from 7 percent in1995 to 32 percent. Enditem