China's Shanghai Airlines on Wednesday signed a 550 million U.S. dollars deal to buy aircraft engines with GE Aviation, a leading U.S. manufacturer of jet aircraft engines.

The deal includes the purchase of 300 million U.S dollars worth of engines to power nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, as well as a 250 million U.S. dollar service contract.

"U.S. companies produce the kind of world-class products and services that can help China meet the demands of its rapidly developing and innovative economy, while supporting American jobs at home," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said at the signing ceremony.

The deal was one of four business contracts signed between Chinese and U.S. companies here on Wednesday.

U.S. retailer Home Depot's acquisition of Chinese home improvement merchandise store The Home Way was among the three other contracts signed. The size of the other three deals were not announced.

The signing ceremony took place ahead of a strategic economic dialogue between China and the United States which starts on Thursday. It will be co-chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi.

"As a leader in the global economy, China needs to do more to open its markets, protect intellectual property and implement economic reforms," Gutierrez said.

Yi Xiaozhun, the Chinese deputy minister of commerce, said at the signing ceremony that U.S. exports to China surged 23 percent in the first 11 months of the year to hit 53.9 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua