by Xinhua writer Hu Tao

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China's surging aviation industry has been creating great opportunities for global companies, especially U.S. giants and many enterprises on the extensive industrial chain.

China has not only developed a massive civil aviation market with huge potential, but also become a major player in aircraft manufacturing.

At the end of 2017, China had a civil fleet of 3,296 aircraft, according to Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Boeing predicted that China will need 7,240 new aircraft over the next 20 years, valued at nearly 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars.

Boeing delivered a record high of 202 new aircraft to China last year, representing 26 percent of its global deliveries and its sixth consecutive year of more than 140 deliveries to China.

More than 9,000 Boeing in-service civil aircraft have components made in China, according to Boeing. For example, all rudders for the entire 787 family come from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the country's largest state-owned aircraft manufacturer.

Boeing is not the only U.S aviation company that benefits from the Chinese market.

Texas-based Bell Helicopter also achieved "great success" in the Chinese market, said Patrick Moulay, the company's executive vice president for global sales and marketing.

In 2017, Bell Helicopter signed a deal for 100 Bell 407GXP single-engine helicopters with its Chinese partner, Shaanxi Helicopter.

The company also received 110 orders from Beijing-based Reignwood Group for Bell505 single-engine helicopters in the same year.

"We take more orders from the Asia Pacific region than the combination of other markets," Moulay told Xinhua in an interview in February.

With its enhanced manufacturing capabilities, China is now a big player in the global aviation industry, purchasing more aircraft from manufacturers worldwide in a more integrated global aviation industry chain of manufacturers and suppliers.

"Aviation is a crucial high-end and high-value industry. It has an extremely long industrial chain and strong economic radiation capacity," said Jason Liao, chairperson and CEO of China Business Aviation Group.

As the world's leading aviation power, the United States not only has manufacturing giants such as Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, Textron Aviation, and Bell Helicopter, but also has many major aviation system suppliers.

China is set to boost the civil aviation industry to create a market that is expected to be worth more than 1 trillion yuan (158.6 billion dollars) by 2020.

"China is not only a 'big buyer' of aircraft from the United States, but also brings continuous business opportunities to system suppliers and other companies on the long industrial chain," said Liao.

China's home-developed C919 large passenger plane, ARJ21 new regional jetliner, and Y-12 general aircraft all have major systems installed which are made by U.S. companies.

"China is now the world's most remarkable aviation market with great growth potential. It means enormous opportunities for U.S companies, now and in the future," said Liao.