ZHUHAI - China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) agreed Tuesday to buy 20 rockets and eight telecommunications satellites from two Chinese technological institutes Tuesday.

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CGWIC, China's only satellite launcher for overseas customers and its sole satellite exporter, will buy 20 Long March-3A rockets and related services from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) over the next five years.

CGWIC also signed a deal with China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) to purchase eight telecommunications satellites including Dongfanghong-4 satellites over the same period.

The two contracts, valued at 15 billion yuan ($2.26 billion), were signed at the eighth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, which began Tuesday in Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong province.

CGWIC, CALT and CAST are all subsidiaries of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).