SHANGHAI -- China has maintained its leading role in musical instrument exportation and produces about half of the world's major musical instruments, according to Music China, an international exhibition for musical instruments that opened on Wednesday in Shanghai.

China produces nearly 400,000 traditional pianos, over 900,000 digital pianos, 1 million western orchestral instruments and 3.2 million guitars every year, accounting for about half of the global output of major musical instruments, according to the expo.

Data from the China Musical Instrument Association (CMIA), one of the expo organizers, shows that in 2019, more than 240 large musical instrument manufacturers in China realized a prime operating revenue of 41.2 billion yuan (about $6.14 billion), up 5.45 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, China exported musical instruments worth $1.74 billion to nearly 200 countries and regions and imported 528 million dollars worth of instruments during the same period, up 6.7 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.

Over the past five years, more than 1,600 technical patents were registered in the industry in China each year, of which over 30 percent were invention patents, according to the CMIA.

Wang Shicheng, president of the association, said China has a huge market potential for musical instruments. "The rise of middle-income groups and reshuffling of demographic structure in China will boost market demand for middle- and high-grade instruments and related services and educational products," said Wang.

The CMIA predicts that in the next five years, the average number of pianos owned by every 100 households in urban China is expected to increase from 6.8 to 7.5, and the number of medium- and high-grade instruments of every 100 such households own is expected to rise from 7.48 to 9.5.

Launched in Shanghai in 2002, Music China is an annual event that has developed into one of the most famous musical instrument expos around the world.