On June 23, 2009 Dragon Aviation Leasing took delivery of the first Airbus A320 to be assembled in China, in Tianjin, a city 120km from Beijing. Dragon Aviation Leasing, which was created in October 2006 following an alliance between Calyon Airfinance, China Aviation Supplies and AerCap B.V., was China’s first aircraft leasing company.

The airplane was financed by Export & Import Bank of China and will be operated by Chinese company Sichuan Airlines. It is the fifth plane to be delivered in a series of 15, with the remaining ones due for delivery by 2011. A financing agreement is already in place with Export & Import Bank of China for the next five.