Lower Saxony's conservative premier, Christian Wulff, warned Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders on Thursday against shifting aircraft production out of Europe to the dollar zone.

"The question must not be here or in the dollar zone, the question must always be here or additionally in the dollar zone," Wulff said in an interview.

He said he would fiercely oppose any relocation of jobs, but said Airbus could think about creating new posts in China and the United States on top of those in Europe.

"All parties are ready to talk, about expanding capacity, increasing production. There can only be a growth strategy," he said.

Enders has called the weak dollar an "existential issue for the company", as Airbus builds aircraft in Europe with costs priced in euros but sells planes in dollars.

Wulff declined to comment on the current status of negotiations with German aerospace company OHB over the sale of the two Airbus plants in Nordenham and Varel in Lower Saxony, but he said he supported a deal.

"I believe it's a good direction for middle-sized companies to create a structure from within Germany that is committed for the long term to the country and to German technology," the state premier said.

Enders told journalists in Toulouse on Wednesday that Airbus needed to be less dependent on the dollar exchange rate.

"Today our true costs are 30 percent in dollars. We need to improve on that and have more value-added in dollar-denominated and low-cost areas, not necessarily in the US," Enders said.