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Scott Jagow: European Union officials are in China this week,
and already the big deals are rolling in. Today, plane maker Airbus and the French nuclear company Areva signed huge orders worth a combined $26 billion. Does this mean American companies are missing out on something here? We asked Alisa Roth to check it out.

Alisa Roth: China is expected to be the world’s second-largest market for airplanes within the next two decades. Which is why the ongoing Boeing-Airbus competition’s especially fierce in the Middle Kingdom.

Last summer, Airbus decided to start producing the A320 there, anticipating a growing market for the planes. And today, the company says it’s selling more than 150 jets to China.

Consultant Doug McVitie is with Arran Aerospace. He says today’s news doesn’t mean Airbus is pulling ahead of its American competition.

Doug McVitie To be honest, I think Boeing will be quite pleased about this in many ways, because it means the domestic Chinese airlines still haven’t ordered new wide bodies, the 787 or 350. Nor has the A380 gotten into China. There’s honestly no need for the U.S. to worry, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s been turbulent for Airbus lately. Among other problems, its much-anticipated jumbo jet has been slow to get off the ground, costing the company billions of dollars.

In New York, I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.