Why Is America Obstructing Airshow China?

Airshow China has become increasingly influential internationally, and it is strengthening China’s competitiveness in the aerospace industry. Affordable and high quality “made in China” products are now impacting American and European goods more than ever, which is really worrying America and other countries.

The 10th annual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition —known as Airshow China or Zhuhai Airshow — will be be held from Nov. 11 to 16 in the Zhuhai City Exhibition Center in Guangdong Province. South Korea, a previously very enthusiastic attendant, has suddenly announced that its 239th Aerobatic Flight Squadron will not attend the Airshow due to American objections, garnering a lot of concern from the international community.

As the only government-approved international aerospace show in China, Airshow China has become more and more elaborate in its scope and level ever since it was founded in 1996, and its international impact has continued to grow. This has brought wariness and uneasiness from America and other countries. As Airshow China has become more international and professional, the event has become one of the top five aerospace shows in the world. Whether it is the number of attending exhibitors, quality of exhibited products, scope of the media, level of foreign air force exhibitions, size of professional audiences and the military and trade missions, or the influence of the show’s forums, these factors have all improved tremendously and reached top international levels, making Airshow China a powerful competitor to American- and European-dominated aerospace shows, and indeed, even shows signs of surpassing them.

Airshow China has become a stage for exhibiting the growth of China’s aerospace industry, and is the best platform for China and the world to exchange and collaborate in this arena, as well as serve as a portal through which the international aerospace manufacturing industry can enter the Chinese market.

Leading aerospace companies in the world have shown tremendous enthusiasm for this year’s Airshow. Long-time exhibitors such as Boeing and Airbus are attending, and new attendees, such as the Korea Aerospace Industries Association and China Hong Kong Aerospace Association, are attending for the first time. The American, Russian and French exhibit delegations are bigger than before, and the British and Canadian exhibit delegations are returning as well. Gulfstream, Dassault, Bombardier, Textron and other well-known business airliner exhibitors and other industry leaders are making an appearance. With more than 130 planes on exhibit, 41 attending countries and regions, almost 700 exhibitors, and more than 200 media outlets and 2,000 journalists, and with more than 45 percent of the exhibitors being international, Airshow China is at a higher level than ever. Its professionalism and internationalism have brought intense scrutiny from the international society.
This year’s Airshow China coincides with the 65th anniversary of China’s air force. With the full support of the Chinese air force, America, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland and Russia, a total of 27 countries’ high-level air force officials will be present, further elevating Airshow China’s international reputation and impact.

As China’s aerospace industry rapidly grows with the unveiling of the J-20, J-31 stealth fighter jets, and with the increasing influence of Airshow China, China will break out of the American and European monopoly of the aerospace technology. China will become an important part of the international aerospace market and become a reliable high-tech equipment supplier country. Countries such as America do not want this to happen. America’s objections to attendance by South Korea and its T-50 aircraft cite security concerns, but there are other reasons. The T-50’s exterior and basic structure is well-known to the public, the strict security requirements at the Airshow also ensure there are no leaks, so the America’s reasoning is rather forced. America’s objections are really about dampening the China-South Korea relationship, keeping Airshow China in check, and curbing the growth of its international influence.

Countries such as America have always treated the aerospace industry as their own private domain and have enforced a strict technology embargo on China. The United States has never tolerated the development of Chinese products or any encroachment on its turf.

The exhibition platforms that worldwide commercial and military aerospace exhibitors, such as the Paris Air Show and the Farnborough International Airshow, have depended on in the past have mostly been monopolized by American and European countries. Previously, if China’s aerospace industry product exhibitors wanted to increase their international impact, they had to go abroad and attend all the American- and European-dominated air shows, severely limiting development. China has desperately needed its own exhibition space with international impact, so Airshow China is now one of the best opportunities.

Airshow China has become increasingly influential internationally, and it is strengthening China’s competitiveness in the aerospace industry. Quite a few countries and regions have expressed strong interest in Chinese aerospace products. Affordable and high quality “made in China” products are now impacting American and European products more than ever, which is really worrying America and other countries, so it is not hard to understand America’s attempts at obstruction at Airshow China.