German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined the key importance of China as the second world market for aviation indusry and the world’s second-largest economy. Merkel while concluding her visit to the Airbus SAS assembly plant in Tianjin , the first Airbus assembly line outside Europe on Friday to mark the extension of the plant’s planned life and the production of its 100th A320 passenger plane, said this was “a significant milestone for the cooperation between Airbus and China, as well as the Airbus strategy of internationalization. Merkel and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended a ceremony at the plant in the northern city of Tianjin, one day after China agreed to buy 50 A320s valued at up to 3.5 billion dollars. The Airbus visit was the final event of Merkel’s two-day trip to China, which would cement a new “special relationship” between China and Germany. For his part, Airbus president Fabrice Bregier said at the ceremony, “Having a final assembly line in Tianjin has greatly promoted the Airbus brand and image in China and brought us closer to our customers in one of the world’s most important aircraft markets.” Merkel and Wen travelled to Tianjin by high-speed train after touring the former imperial palace, or Forbidden City, in nearby Beijing earlier Friday. At a business forum in Tianjin, German business leaders urged China to allow greater market access for foreign firms by simplifying investment procedures and making improvements to patent protection. Wen said at the forum that China would not restrict exports of rare earths but needed to protect its resources and limit the environmental impact of mining. “I support China and Germany to cooperate on the development and use of rare earths as well as the utilization of high technology in this process,” state media quoted him as saying. “This is much better than filing trade complaints.” Earlier this year, the World Trade Organization upheld a complaint by the European Union, the United States and Japan that China’s trade restrictions on rare earths violated international trade rules. The group of 17 elements are key to the manufacture of electronic, automotive, energy and medical equipment and products. China controls about 95 % of global production but has only a quarter of rare earth reserves. Merkel, who was on her second visit to China this year, held talks in Beijing with Wen and President Hu Jintao Thursday, winning cautious support from the Chinese leaders for German-backed efforts to resolve the eurozone debt crisis. The two nations signed 18 government and business agreements after Merkel’s talks with Wen, with state television estimating that the total value of the deals could exceed 6 billion dollars. China’s ICBC Leasing, part of the state-run Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, agreed to buy the 50 Airbus A320s, while Airbus’ Chinese partners committed to extending the life of the Tianjin plant beyond its original end date of 2016. Merkel was accompanied on her trip by the biggest German delegation to visit China, including more than 100 officials and business executives.