BEIJING: Airbus SAS will keep an eye on the distant prospect of China rising as a new competitor but for the moment sees it operating in a different market, the head of the European plane maker's Chinese business said on Thursday.

Airbus, majority owned by EADS, had sold roughly 220 planes in China in 2005, Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China Ltd., told Reuters.

China is developing a regional jet, a small airliner intended for short routes.

Asked whether that was a concern, Barron said: ''It is not a question of concern but obviously a question of great interest to us.'' Airbus did not make such an aircraft and would have to see whether the Chinese model was a success, he said.

''If it is, then maybe there's a new player on the block, but it's not due in service until 2009.'' Airbus was not worried about potentially new competition given it was accustomed to competing fiercely with Boeing Co., he said.

Airbus's smallest plane seats about 100 passengers. Regional jets typically seat far fewer.

Analysts say it would be extremely difficult for a new player to break into the market dominated by Airbus and its U S rival.

Even if customers could be persuaded that a new product would offer the high reliability and performance that they already trust Boeing and Airbus to deliver, a new competitor would have to overcome the inefficiencies of an airline introducing planes that are not compatible with the rest of its fleet.

Asked whether Airbus might this year repeat its 2005 sales performance in China, Barron said: ''Demand in China continues to be extremely strong but I don't think we can expect every year to have that kind of level of orders.'' China was likely to purchase more than 2,000 aircraft from Airbus over the next 20 years, he said, adding that the company's recent official forecast stood at 1,800.

''We're reviewing that and I suspect we'll probably increase the number,'' he said.

Boeing, which is leading Airbus in the lucrative market for wide-body long-haul jets in China, has made similar forecasts though Barron said the two companies' outlooks were not wholly comparable.

European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. N.V., based in Germany and France, owns 80 percent of Airbus. British defence contractor BAE Systems Plc. owns the rest.