Int'l airshow highlights "Made in China"

An international aviation and aerospace exhibition opened Tuesday in the city of southern Guangdong Province with a record number of products on show.

A major highlight of the six-day biennial event, China's J-20 stealth fighter, developed by the Aviation Industry Corp. of China, made its public debut on the first day of the 11th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai.

The top aerospace maker will present more than 160 products and systems, including military and civilian aircraft, helicopters and drones.

The event will be attended by over 700 manufacturers from 42 countries and regions and feature 140 aircraft.

Other items on display include the AG600, the China-made largest amphibious plane in the world, as well as objects relating to or models of the space lab Tiangong-2, the lunar probe Chang'e-5, as well as Long March carrier rockets and their launchers.

In addition, the solid-fuelled carrier rockets Kuaizhou-1 and Kuaizhou-11, and a number of missiles, rockets and high-end drones, debuted at the show.

A 70,000-square-meter zone will feature demonstrations of more than 10 types of military and civilian equipment, such as tanks and SUVs, a first for the show.

Aerial aerobatic teams from China, Russia, Britain and Pakistan wooed spectators, and Britain's Red Arrows gave its first ever performance in the air show.

The exhibition covers an indoor area of 82,000 square meters, about 24 percent larger than the last event. Overseas manufacturers account for 45 percent of attendees, again, more than all previous events.

At the event, the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China signed an agreement allowing China Eastern Airlines to be the first customer to use the C919, the country's first large passenger aircraft.

The two will start negotiations on contracts concerning five C919 jets, which rolled off the final assembly line in November 2015. Endi