(Reuters) Boeing and Chinese planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] have signed an agreement to open a Boeing 737 completion facility in the coastal city of Zhoushan.

The deal, signed at a ceremony on Friday, follows an agreement between the two companies inked in September last year to open a center to install interiors, paint liveries and deliver 737 aircraft to Chinese customers.

A Boeing spokesman confirmed the signing to Reuters, which was reported by CAAC News, a publication run by China’s aviation regulator.

The facility is Boeing’s first 737 completion plant outside the United States and comes as the U.S. planemaker and its European rival Airbus fiercely compete for plane orders in China. Airbus already has two plants in China.

Reuters