Airshow China 2024 opens to public, drawing thousands of aviation fans

Crowds gathered before dawn in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Friday as the country's largest air show opened its doors to the public, offering rare glimpses of China's latest military and space achievements.

The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, is running from Tuesday to Sunday.

The three-day public viewing session is expected to draw 115,000 visitors on its first day alone, with organizers implementing crowd control measures at several pavilions due to overwhelming interest.

China unveiled its domestically-developed new-generation stealth fighter jets J-20s and J-35A at this year's show, becoming a country with two types of active stealth warcraft.

Some veteran army fans carrying lenses of different sizes said that they are proud to witness the gathering of various advanced aircraft and remarkable progress of China's military equipment development.

"I want to see the cutting-edge fighter jets of our country's aviation industry, and our advanced air defense. As an army fan, I am looking forward to our country's high-tech aviation products and military products. I feel very excited, and very proud of the development of our country's military equipment," said a visitor.

Among the most sought-after exhibits is a sample of lunar soil from the far side of the moon - a world's first - brought back by China's Chang'e-6 mission. "I arrived last night, and today is my first day at the airshow. It is the lunar soil from the far side of the moon brought back by Chang'e-6. It is the world's first lunar soil collected from the far side of the moon, and it was collected by China. Because I am a little space fan, I am very interested in this kind of knowledge about China's space program," said a young visitor.

Covering more than 800,000 square meters, this year's show has attracted 1,022 companies from 47 countries and regions. A new dedicated area for unmanned systems showcases the growing importance of drone technology in both civilian and military applications.

The show's aerial demonstrations have drawn particular attention, featuring formation flights by some of China's most advanced military aircraft. The J-20 stealth fighter, J-35A carrier-based fighter, and YU-20 tanker aircraft took to the skies, alongside displays from the People's Liberation Army Air Force's aerobatic team.

On the ground, visitors queued to see Y-20 transport aircraft and the HQ-19 anti-ballistic missile system, with timed entry slots implemented for crowd management.

The exhibition, which will run through Sunday, comes as China continues to emphasize its technological self-sufficiency amid growing international tensions and trade restrictions in critical tech sectors.

Airshow China 2024 opens to public, drawing thousands of aviation fans

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will work with relevant departments and local authorities to take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the newly passed private sector promotion law, a landmark legislation concerning a vast economic force in the country, said an NDRC official.

China's top legislative body -the National People's Congress - passed the private sector promotion law on Wednesday, establishing a legal backing for the steady and healthy growth of the key sector, including more than 57 million private firms and over 100 million self-employed individuals.

This landmark law is China's first fundamental legislation dedicated to the private sector. It will bolster confidence among the vast community by improving the business environment, fostering innovation, and ensuring fair competition, according to NDRC, the country's top economic planner.

"The private sector promotion law has actively responded to the key concerns in the development of the private sector. Efforts are made to establish and improve relevant systems and enhance the enforceability of the systems, from ensuring fair competition, improving investment and financing environment, supporting technology innovation, focusing on regulated operation, optimizing services and guarantees, and improving rights and interest protection, to strengthening legal accountability, so as to ensure that all forms of ownership can equally utilize production factors by the law, participate in market competition fairly, receive equal legal protection, further unleash their complementary advantages, and pursue common development," said Liu Min, deputy director of Private Sector Development Bureau under NDRC.

Liu added NDRC will continue to work together with relevant departments and local authorities to improve supporting systems and mechanisms and take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the private sector promotion law.

"We will make continuous and increasing efforts to remove barriers to market access and to fair competition, to address the issue of overdue payments to private enterprises, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and entrepreneurs by the law, to implement various relief policies, to help private enterprises shoulder their responsibilities of the era, so as to help translate legal systems into concrete actions and tangible outcomes that promote the high-quality development of the private sector," said Liu.

Concrete steps to take for firmly implementing China's landmark private sector promotion law: official