Aircraft maker Airbus’s helicopter division announced on Monday that it had sold 123 general aviation helicopters to three Chinese customers. The orders from Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces include mainly light single-engine aircraft from the company’s Ecureuil and the light twin-engine model EC135.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) does not build a competitive product, but the Bell Helicopter division of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) and the Sikorsky unit of United Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UTX) both build helicopters for general aviation and commercial use.

Airbus Helicopters recently changed its name from Eurocopter and claims to be the world’s largest helicopter maker, employing 23,000 people worldwide. The company operates a manufacturing facility in China and claims to hold 60% of the market for helicopters in the country.

The contracts were announced in connection with a visit to China by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Deliveries of the aircraft will be made over the next six years.

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