File photo: IC

US aircraft maker Boeing Co still has confidence in the Chinese market, despite lingering trade war between Beijing and Washington that have clouded the company's prospects, and it has forecast that China will need more than 8,000 new planes over the next two decades.

The aviation giant forecast that Chinese airlines will need 8,090 new airplanes in the next 20 years, worth nearly $1.3 trillion, and about $1.6 trillion in services will be necessary to meet passenger traffic demand in China, which is expected to grow by 6 percent annually.

The total demand for aircraft and services represents a 7-percent increase over the 2018 forecast.

Growth is being driven by the expanding middle class, significant investment in infrastructure and advanced technologies in China, Randy Tinseth, vice president of commercial marketing for Boeing, said.

"China could exceed the US and become the largest aviation market in five years, and China is one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing markets," he said during a press conference on Tuesday in Beijing. 

Officials from the world's two biggest economies are expected to hold a new round of high-level trade talks next month.

Bloomberg News reported in June that Boeing has been negotiating one of the largest orders ever of wide-body jetliners with Chinese airlines, and the discussions center on about 100 twin-aisle jets, 787 Dreamliners as well as 777X planes, the newest long-range aircraft in Boeing's lineup.

When asked when the 737MAX will fly again , he said it could happen as early as in the fourth quarter of this year, but exactly when depends on the US Federal Aviation Administration, and other countries' regulators. 

He said that Boeing is undertaking necessary steps including software updates and professional training to ensure that the aircraft can fly safely. 

He said since a crash in March this year, Boeing has lowered the yield of the 737 model from 52 to 42 per month. However, Boeing is still full of confidence in the market. Boeing predicts that 40,400 new aircraft worth $6.8 trillion will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years.

The report, part of Boeing's annual market outlook, said that similar to previous years, single-aisle airplanes are expected to make up the majority of China's domestic and regional fleets. 

Boeing said that China will need 5,960 new single-aisle airplanes, representing 74 percent of total new deliveries. Demand for wide-body airplanes is also high, with 1,780 new wide-body aircraft needed, which will triple the country's current wide-body fleet. 

China's rapidly growing e-commerce and express-delivery market will make air cargo a key growth driver, as 230 new freighters and 500 converted freighters will be needed. 

Chinese express carrier SF Express started its cargo services with an B747-400ERF aircraft leaving Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu Province en route to Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday, with a flying distance of 9,540 kilometers. 

China has 15 percent of the world's commercial airplane fleet. By 2038, that proportion is expected to increase to 18 percent, putting China on pace to become the world's largest aviation market within the next decade.