The Chinese Aircraft Market Will Be Worth Over $1 Trillion by 2035

China will become the world’s first aircraft market valued at $1 trillion as an increasing number of members of the Chinese middle class travel by air, estimates American aircraft manufacturer Boeing. It is expected that the world’s most populous country will increase its commercial fleet by more than 6,800 new aircraft, and that the fleet’s value will reach $1.03 trillion by 2035, Boeing announced on Tuesday in its annual forecast for the Chinese market.

Passenger traffic in China is estimated to grow by 6.4 percent annually over the next 20 years, as the economy increasingly relies on consumption and the service industry to drive growth. “With China’s transition to a more consumption-based economy, aviation will play a key role in its economic development,” said Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Chinese carriers are expanding their fleets and offering new direct routes to meet the demand of an increasing number of wealthy consumers in China and across Asia, Boeing notes.

“The continuous growth of the Chinese middle class, combined with new visa policies and a wide range of large aircraft with new technologies, capabilities, and efficiencies, gives us reason to believe in a bright future for the Chinese long-haul market,” Tinseth emphasized.

Of the 6,810 new aircraft that China will need from 2016 to 2035, 75 percent will be single-aisle aircraft with 90 to 230 seats, Boeing estimates. It also predicts that a total of 1,560 wide-body aircraft will be needed.

The rapidly growing online sales in China, which is already the largest in the world, also drives demand for cargo aircraft, so Boeing predicts that China will need 180 new freighters and 410 passenger-cargo aircraft over the next two decades.

Boeing competes with European Airbus for global dominance in the aircraft market. However, both companies face increasing competition from Chinese rivals supported by the government as Beijing attaches strategic importance to this lucrative, technology-intensive industry and views it as a symbol of national pride.