COPENHAGEN - Danish wind turbine maker Vestas said its orders from China this year reached a record high as the country invests more heavily in clean energy, including wind power, Reuters reported Thursday.

China became the world's biggest wind turbine market in 2009 when energy infrastructure markets in the West were depressed, and Chinese manufacturers have in the past few years climbed into the ranks of the top turbine suppliers, rivaling Vestas, GE and other established players, the report said.

According to the report, Vestas opened a research and development center in Beijing in October and has said it will reserve its entire Chinese manufacturing capacity to meet China demand this year.

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The company's largest integrated manufacturing plant is in China's Tianjin city, the report said. 

"In 2010, Vestas has announced almost 1,000 megawatt (mW) worth of orders in China alone, which is a record high order intake for Vestas in this competitive market," Vestas Wind Systems A/S said in a statement.

The company had earlier forecast that its global order intake in the full year 2010 will be between 8,000 and 9,000 mW, rebounding from a weak 2009 level of 3,072 mW, according to the report.