BEIJING: One of China’s top airlines will split $10 billion of new orders between European manufacturer Airbus and US-based Boeing, it said, as competition heats up for aviation market share in the world’s second-largest economy. China Eastern Airlines said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that the lion’s share of the orders, nearly $6 billion, will go to Airbus for 20 A350 aircraft. It will also spend close to $4 billion on 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The bitter aerospace rivals have been in a fierce battle for orders in China, which is forecast to have 1.7 billion air passengers by 2034, and is poised to become the largest civil aviation market in the world in the next two decades.