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Our reporter Xing Xue and Zhou Zhuobin

Visitors exchange ideas at the booth of COMAC. Photo by our reporter Xing Xue

From July 22 to July 26, the 2024 Farnborough International Air Show was held at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, UK. More than 1,200 exhibitors from more than 40 countries and regions participated in the air show. According to the organizers, the transaction volume during the air show reached 81.5 billion pounds, and 260 commercial aircraft order contracts were signed. At the exhibition, Chinese aviation manufacturing companies made their debut and attracted widespread attention in the industry.

Green and sustainable development is a major focus of attention for all parties at this air show. Gareth Rogers, CEO of Farnborough Air Show, said that emission reduction and sustainable development in the aerospace industry is one of the key topics of this air show. Exhibitors from many countries actively displayed the green technologies being deployed and exchanged and discussed the prospects for global cooperation across departments and industries. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "COMAC") exhibited models of a series of aircraft such as C919, ARJ21 and C929, and held a special promotion event. Yang Yang, deputy director of the Marketing Committee of COMAC, said that COMAC actively integrates into the sustainable development process of the global aviation industry. ARJ21 and C919 aircraft successfully completed the first demonstration flight of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on June 5, 2024, which means that these two aircraft can use SAF fuel with a blending ratio of up to 50% for commercial flights, while meeting the diverse usage needs of customers and making positive contributions to the sustainable development of the global aviation industry.

With the rapid development of the global low-altitude economy, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) has become one of the highlights of this year's air show. Innovative companies from China, Germany, Brazil and other countries have exhibited new products at the exhibition. Visitors are coming in an endless stream in front of the United Aircraft Group booth. The TD550 unmanned helicopter exhibited here can provide solutions for emergency rescue and material transportation. The "Ray Shadow" Q20 quad-rotor drone has outstanding performance in the field of low-altitude logistics. Many new products such as agricultural drones are also favored by many people in the industry. Sun Liye, vice president of United Aircraft Group, introduced that on the first day of the air show, United Aircraft received an order for 100 industrial-grade drones from France, which will be used by French customers in the field of logistics and transportation.

Xu Gang, Airbus's global executive vice president and Airbus China CEO, said in an interview with reporters that China has significant advantages in the aviation industry supply chain and is also a "powerhouse" for global innovation, with a complete ecosystem of hardware, software and artificial intelligence, and a broad prospect for the development of the aviation market. Airbus' latest analysis believes that China will continue to be the engine driving the growth of the global aviation market.

The reporter saw at the exhibition that a number of upstream and downstream enterprises in the aviation industry chain from Jiangxi, Sichuan and Shaanxi also appeared at the air show, and some of them participated in the air show for the first time. According to reports, given the high added value of forgings used in aerospace and the wide distribution of corporate customers, more and more Chinese companies are actively using international exhibition platforms to expand their brand influence and expand international markets. During this air show, the Shaanxi Provincial Chamber of Commerce held a China (Shaanxi)-UK aerospace enterprise docking exchange meeting, and related companies signed a strategic cooperation memorandum, laying the foundation for further cooperation in the future aviation industry.

(London, July 28)

People's Daily (16th edition, July 29, 2024)