GE Aerospace said it had signed sales and service agreements worth more than $12.9 billion during the ninth China International Import Expo, a record signing value for the US engine maker at the annual event in Shanghai, which was held this year from Nov 5 to Nov 10.
The total is more than six times the nearly $2.1 billion announced at last year's CIIE. The agreements with China Eastern Airlines and MTU Maintenance Zhuhai cover engines for new aircraft, spare engines, long-term services and maintenance supplies.
Among the deals, China Eastern will purchase 202 LEAP-1A engines to power 101 newly ordered Airbus A320neo-family aircraft. The agreement also includes spare engines and long-term service support. In a separate deal, GE Aerospace will supply the airline with 14 spare LEAP-1A, LEAP-1C and CFM56-7B engines.
GE Aerospace also signed agreements with MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a joint venture between China Southern Airlines and Germany's MTU Aero Engines, covering aviation materials and engine component repairs.
Xiang Weiming, vice-president of GE Aerospace and president of GE Aerospace Greater China, said the CIIE, which the company has attended every year, has helped build a network for open cooperation between China and the rest of the world, with aviation serving as a bridge.
"We will continue to deepen our presence in China and provide reliable power for exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world," Xiang said.
The agreements reflect broader changes in China's aviation industry, spanning fleet renewal, the transition to lower-carbon aviation, stronger maintenance capabilities and closer integration with global supply chains, said Yang Hangjun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics and president of the China Chapter of the Air Transport Research Society.
"This cooperation should not be understood simply as buying engines," he said.
China's growing demand for fleet renewal is a key driver of the deals. Boeing's latest China market outlook projects demand for 9,240 new aircraft over the next 20 years, with about 42 percent expected to replace older models.
For airlines, fleet renewal is not only about expanding capacity, but also improving operating efficiency and reducing emissions. CFM International, the 50-50 JV between GE Aerospace and France's Safran Aircraft Engines that produces LEAP engines, said its LEAP family consumes about 15 percent less fuel and produces about 15 percent less carbon dioxide than the previous-generation CFM56.
Yang described the cooperation with MTU Maintenance Zhuhai as a shift from "buying equipment" to "buying capabilities", with cooperation extending beyond engine purchases to domestic maintenance support and supply-chain capacity.
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai already services LEAP and other narrow-body aircraft engines. Its two facilities have a combined target capacity of more than 700 engine maintenance visits a year across several engine families.
GE Aerospace's broader maintenance network in China includes partner and authorized overhaul facilities, parts warehouses and an on-site support and quick-repair facility in Shanghai. At the CIIE, the company also showcased an artificial intelligence-powered inspection system developed by its China team to help detect abnormalities inside engines.
The agreements therefore carry implications beyond individual aircraft purchases, strengthening links between international engine manufacturers, Chinese airlines and local maintenance providers.
Yang said the long-term cooperation reflected multinational aviation companies' continued confidence in China's market and willingness to deepen ties with local industry players, helping support the stability of global aviation supply chains.
Ma Wei, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies, said that companies made business decisions based on practical interests and development opportunities, while calls for "decoupling" and claims that China's prospects were weakening were largely political rhetoric.
He said the consensus reached this year on building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability had provided businesses with more stable expectations, helping them turn mutually beneficial needs into practical cooperation.
lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn
