(Yicai Global) April 20 -- China will need 8,500 new civil aircraft over the next 20 years, Boeing Executive Vice President Liu Qing said, adding that China will remain an important market for the US plane maker’s passenger jets and air services.

The headline figure includes 1,570 wide-body and more than 6,000 single-aisle aircraft, Liu said at a meeting of the National Development and Reform Commission and US Multinational Enterprises Roundtable -- the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area held in Guangzhou yesterday.

China welcomes US multinationals and firms from other countries to invest in the Greater Bay Area in technological innovation, green energy, ecological environmental protection, marine economy, and biomedicine, NDRC Deputy Director Li Chunlin told the same meeting.

Senior managers from multinationals have descended on China recently, and the whole country has made greater efforts to attract overseas investors, and foreign companies have hiked investment in the nation, according to Fu Baozong, deputy director of the Center of International Cooperation at the NDRC.

Fu noted at the meeting that the NDRC, China’s state planner, always welcomes foreign investors, including US firms, to further their business in China and increase investment in the country.

Honeywell China President Yu Feng said China has been constantly improving its business environment, so Honeywell International is confident about the market. An important task of his visit to China is to further investigate and find more investment opportunities for the firm, he suggested.

The NDRC’s departments and offices will continue to enhance communication with foreign-funded chambers of commerce and associations, according to Gao Jian, deputy head of the NDRC’s Department of International Cooperation.

They will respond to the concerns of foreign companies in a timely and effective manner, interpret related policies to them, and assist in meeting reasonable demands of foreign firms, help them overcome difficulties, and create a sound business environment for foreign companies to invest in China, Gao said.

More than 70 representatives from 54 US chambers of commerce and businesses in China participated in the meeting.

Editor: Peter Thomas