U.S. engine giant Cummins Inc. has turned over one billion U.S. dollars annually in China for three years in a row, Cummins China said on Tuesday.

Overseas business has contributed 50 percent to Cummins' global sales for two consecutive years and China has become the company's largest and fastest growing overseas market. India and Russia followed.

In August last year, the first Sino-foreign diesel engine research and development center, funded by Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co. Ltd., a Sino-American joint venture between Dongfeng Motor and Cummins, was put into use in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province.

To grab a slice of the Chinese market for light diesel engines, Cummins signed a joint venture contract with Beiqi Foton Motor Co. last year to produce the U.S. company's new 2.8-liter and 3.8-liter L4 diesel engines in Beijing.

The joint venture is expected to start operation in 2008, according to previous reports.

In 1981, Cummins became one of the first foreign companies to launch local production in China, after inking a license agreement with China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (Sinotruk).

Cummins, ranking among the Fortune Global 500 list, employs 33,500 people around the world and serves customers in 160 countries and regions.

Source: Xinhua