The first Airbus plane imported by China in 1985 has been donated to the China civil aviation museum by Airbus China after 21 years of service, Thursday's Beijing Youth Daily reports.

The A310-200 Airbus plane was delivered to the China civil aviation authority on June 25, 1985 and had since been operated by China Eastern Airlines, flying for a total of 39,053 hours.

Airbus bought the plane from the Chinese airline in order to donate it to the museum.

Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, said that the display of China's first Airbus plane at the museum was the best evidence of the close cooperation between Airbus and China's civil aviation industry.

China is now one of the most important markets for the European aircraft producer. In 2005 alone, China ordered 219 planes from Airbus.

By the end of this year, there will be over 300 Airbus planes in operation in China, said Barron.

The company said in March this year that it would deliver its last A310 plane in July 2007.

The China civil aviation museum, sponsored by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), is currently under construction at a site near the Beijing international airport.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)