Air show seeks to position China as global competitor

China is displaying its latest generation fighter jets and civilian aircraft this week as it looks to carve a larger role for itself in the global arms trade and compete with Boeing and Airbus.

China is currently the world's fourth-largest arms exporter and an expanding domestic industry has allowed itself to cut off former dependence on Russia. With heavy state backing, it now competes to sell drones, warplanes and missile defence systems, as well as its staple Cold War-era ground weapons and ammunition.

Military aircraft on display starting on Tuesday include the J-20 stealth fighter and YU-20 aerial tanker.

The air show in the southern city of Zhuhai comes as Russia's war on Ukraine has reduced stocks to the point that the United States has accused North Korea of supplying Soviet-era ammunition such as artillery shells to replenish Russian stockpiles.

Between 2017 and 2021, China made up 4.6 per cent of total global arms exports, placing it fourth behind the US, Russia and France, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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