(Yicai Global) Nov. 14 -- The 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, ended yesterday, with a number of participants at the biennial event noting that with the Chinese economy’s long-term positive fundamentals unchanged, they will speed up their positioning in the market.

Despite Covid-19 outbreaks, the six-day show held in Zhuhai, southern Guangdong province, drew more than 740 companies from 43 countries and regions to participate both online and offline. About 110 aircraft were displayed over the 100,000-square-meter exhibition area.

US conglomerate Honeywell International participated in the airshow for the seventh straight time, with the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm showcasing its auxiliary power units, IntuVue three-dimensional weather radar system and other products.

Honeywell’s APUs, flight control systems and engine brake pedals, developed in cooperation with its Chinese partner, are used in the C919, China’s homegrown narrow-body airliner. Xu Jun, president of Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific, told Yicai Global that the firm is optimistic about the long-term prospects of the Chinese market and has been increasing its investment in the country.

During this year’s exhibition, GE Aviation inked an agreement with Taikoo Engine Services Xiamen to enable engines of the ARJ21 regional jet to be serviceable in China.

“Covid-19 outbreaks and global political and economic turbulences have to some degree slowed the recovery of China’s civil aviation sector,” said General Electric’s Global Vice President Xiang Weiming, who is also president of GE China and GE Aviation China, “but in the long run, the fundamentals sustaining China’s sound economic growth will remain unchanged, which means China will still be the world’s largest aviation market.”

During Airshow China, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC, and Airbus released market outlooks for the next two decades, forecasting deliveries to China of 9,934 and 8,420 aircraft, respectively, between 2022 and 2041, compared to Boeing’s prediction of 8,485.

The C919 secured orders from seven aircraft leasing firms at the airshow. COMAC sources said that as deliveries will grow slowly from a small to a large number, not many C919s will be handed over to buyers in the first year.

Editor: Peter Thomas