Rolls-Royce forecasts huge market growth for aircraft engines in China

China will need 3,000 airplanes and 6,500 aircraft engines by 2026, according to a forecast by Rolls-Royce made at the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow in south China's Guangdong Province.

Rolls' civil aerospace chief commercial officer Charles Cuddington said that China's purchases will create a 65 billion U.S. dollar market for aircraft engine production.

China's civil aviation industry is estimated to grow at a rate of 8 percent a year over the next 20 years. The strong demand will turn China into the world's biggest buyer of airplanes and aircraft engines, said Cuddington.

Rolls-Royce's Trent 700 engines have been installed on all Airbus A330 jets operating in China. The British aircraft engine maker struck a deal this year with Air China to install Trent 1000 engines in 15 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets and secured a deal to supply AE 3007 engines for Hainan Airline's airplanes.

Ten Chinese airline operators have ordered Rolls-Royce engines for their airliners. The engine maker has also set up an aircraft component plant in Xi'an, in southwest China's Shaanxi Province, to reinforce its foothold in the China market.

Source: Xinhua