China is set to overtake the US to become the world's largest business travel market by 2015, a report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) said on Monday.

According to the report of the US-based business travel organization, the Chinese spent $182 billion in 2011, making the country the second largest market in the world after the US with $250 billion.

"Business travel drives the economy and China is no exception," Welf J. Ebeling, GBTA regional director, said. "From this report we can see just how explosive this growth is going to be over the next few years."

"The Chinese recognize how important business travel is and the investments that are being made in vital infrastructure expansion demonstrate that."

The organization predicts business travel spending in China will increase by 17 percent in 2012 to $202 billion and by 21 percent in 2013 to $245 billion.

The growth of business trips and spending in China is a reflection of the increasing manufacturing output, trade, and infrastructure investment, accompanied by GDP growth over the next two years of between eight and nine percent, the report said.

"China's phenomenal economic growth over the last decade has been mirrored in business travel, which is now a key contributor to, and benefactor from, the country's expansion," Mike McCormick, GBTA chief operating officer, said.

The four major airports in China -- Beijing Capital International Airports, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, have doubled in size over the past decade. To meet the increasing demand, China plans to build 56 airports by 2016, Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said last year.