China Eastern Airlines (CEA) signed an engine maintenance contract with Pratt & Whitney on Nov. 5, the opening day of the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is the first civil aviation purchase order inked at this year's CIIE.

The contract is for the maintenance of CEA's V2500 engines of over 50 Airbus A320 aircraft, with an estimated contract value that accounts for over 50 percent of the total value of CEA's deals at the annual import-themed trade fair. CEA and Pratt & Whitney have cooperated with each other for over 20 years.

Headquartered in CIIE's host city Shanghai, CEA participates in the world-class Expo for the fifth consecutive years as a core supporting enterprise, appointed air carrier, purchaser and service provider of CIIE.

The company and well-known suppliers from the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore and Hong Kong, etc., have signed 15 deals worth more than $1.6 billion covering new technologies and new services in aviation. Both CEA's total value of deals and transaction volume this year have surpassed those of last year.

Attaching much importance to aviation supplies, CEA signed 6 deals with world-renowned aviation companies such as Rolls-Royce, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Technik, Collins Aerospace and Satair. The six deals are worth nearly 90 percent of the total value of the 15 deals.

The opportunities and platform created by the CIIE enable the CEA to further integrate itself with the innovative development pattern of the global aviation industry, deepen cooperation in and boost the steady development of industrial chains, and better serve the passengers, introduced an executive of CEA.

CEA also aims to deepen mutually beneficial cooperative relations with world-leading enterprises such as Panasonic, GE, Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell at this year's CIIE, to contribute to global industrial recovery.