The model, which has 166 seats competes with Boeing's 737 and the Airbus A320.
According to estimates by Boeing, this segment of the market could be worth $1.7trillion over the next 20 years.
But neither Airbus nor Boeing showed signs of being troubled by the entry of the Chinese into their market.
Speaking at the Zhuhai Air Show in China, Laurence Barron, Airbus's top China executive, said: "We were born into competition 40 years ago and now we are number one. Frankly we are used to it. Where's the big deal?"
And Jim Simon, Boeing's vice-president for China commercial sales, said: "It makes the industry better, frankly, because it makes us sharper at our game."
