Eric Chen, who was senior vice-president of commercial and external affairs of Airbus China, has become president of Airbus China, the European aircraft builder said on Tuesday.

Chen will be responsible for Airbus' overall activities in China, including business development, commercial activities, customer services and industrial cooperation.

Laurence Barron, Chen's predecessor, has now taken over as CEO and chairman of EADS China, which is Airbus’ parent company.

In addition, Rafael Gonzalez-Ripoll Garzon, who worked for Airbus in Spain, has been appointed chief operating officer of Airbus China on Jan 1.

Airbus China has over 1,200 employees.

In 2012, 125 new Airbus aircraft were delivered to Chinese clients, with the number representing over 20 percent of the manufacturer's full-year deliveries.

By the end of 2012, Chinese airlines had as many as 876 Airbus airplanes.