China needs 7,240 new planes in next 20 years: Boeing forecast

China is expected to need 7,240 new planes over the next 20 years, valued at nearly 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars, said Boeing in its latest market outlook, released Wednesday in Beijing.

China's fleet size is expected to grow at a pace faster than the world average. Almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in the country, said Boeing in its annual China Current Market Outlook (CMO).

Boeing has projected a global demand of 41,030 new commercial airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at 6.1 trillion U.S. dollars.

"China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing adjusted China's expected airplane demand higher by 6.3 percent compared with last year's forecast.

It predicted that China will need 5,420 new single-aisle airplanes through 2036.

According to the CMO, full-service airlines and low-cost carriers have been adding new single-aisle airplanes and expanding new point-to-point services to cater to both leisure and business travel demand in China and throughout Asia.

"China's outbound travel market continues its rapid growth toward 200 million passengers annually," said Tinseth.

More than 50 percent of all the commercial jetliners operating in China are Boeing airplanes, according to Boeing.

According to the company, China has a component role for every current Boeing commercial airplane model. Over 9,000 Boeing airplanes fly around the world with integrated China-built parts and components.