A view of the booth of Rolls-Royce during an expo in Shanghai. CHINA DAILY

As China's aviation market enters a new stage of expansion, Rolls-Royce is strengthening its long-term presence in the country, viewing the market as not only key for growth, but also as an increasingly important hub for maintenance services and supply chain cooperation.

"We see China as one of the most important markets for Rolls-Royce and an important part of our global supply chain," said Liu Xiaowei, SVP Civil Customer and Custodian for Rolls-Royce Greater China, during a recent media roundtable.

According to the newly appointed senior executive, China currently boasts more than 500 Rolls-Royce-powered aircraft in service, with another 100-plus aircraft on order. Together, they account for nearly 20 percent of the company's global widebody engine delivery.

"Roughly one out of every five widebody engines we produce will eventually serve the China market," Liu said. "That fully reflects how important this market is to Rolls-Royce."

Liu added that Rolls-Royce's procurement spending in China achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in 2025, highlighting the country's growing role in the company's global supply chain network.

The comments came as China's civil aviation market continues to grow and expand. Data from the International Air Transport Association show that Asia-Pacific remained one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally in 2025, driven largely by the rebound in China's international travel demand.

"We expect to achieve steady growth over the next five years," Liu said, noting that the number of widebody aircraft in the China market is expected to rise from more than 700 currently to around 1,100 by 2040, driven by both fleet expansion and replacement demand for aging aircraft.

"This represents not only net growth of more than 400 aircraft, but also significant replacement demand for older-generation models, which is where we see substantial long-term growth potential in the China market," he added.

Against this backdrop, the British aircraft engine manufacturer is also accelerating its localization efforts in China's maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, sector.

Liu highlighted the recent opening of the Chinese mainland's first full-scope overhaul facility for Trent widebody engines, Beijing Aero Engine Services Ltd (BAESL) — a 50-50 joint venture with Air China — as a sign of the company's long-term confidence in China's aircraft maintenance market.

With BAESL officially commencing operations late last year, China is now home to two of Rolls-Royce's four global joint-venture MRO facilities for Trent series engines.

"Even with our existing maintenance capabilities in Hong Kong, we still decided to establish this advanced overhaul facility in Beijing," Liu said. "It demonstrates our long-term investment commitment to the Chinese market and our confidence in China as a key hub in the global supply chain and MRO network."

BAESL is currently scheduled to service Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 engines, and is expected to achieve a stable annual overhaul capacity of 250 engines by the mid-2030s while supporting around 800 jobs.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is also expanding capabilities at Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Ltd, or HAESL.

According to Liu, HAESL's workforce has increased from around 1,200 employees a few years ago to about 1,750 today, alongside the addition of new capabilities.

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn