15th Airshow China opens in Zhuhai

The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China or the Zhuhai Airshow, opened on Tuesday in Zhuhai City of south China's Guangdong Province.

The highly-anticipated biennial aerospace trade show will run until Sunday, and a four-hour flight demonstration, including performances of aerobatic teams and military jets, will be staged each day of the event.

On the first day, China's J-20 and J-35A stealth fighters, along with Russia's Su-57 stealth fighter, performed stunning aerobatics on the same aerial stage for the first time.

At the outdoor and indoor exhibition areas of the airshow, equipment of China's army, navy and air forces are on display, including the debut of the J-15D carrier-based fighter, the debut of the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile weapon system, and the new reconnaissance and strike drone.

This year's airshow also features the debut of lunar soil samples brought back by China's Chang'e-6 mission from the far side of the moon in June this year and a separate exhibition zone displaying unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ships.

The airshow has attracted 1,022 companies from 47 countries and regions to showcase their star aviation and aerospace products, including a record number of products being debuted to the public at the event.

On the sidelines of the airshow, domestic airlines signed orders with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) for a total of 130 C909 and C919 passenger planes.

Meanwhile, Air China has signed an intention agreement with COMAC to become the first customer of the C929 wide-body aircraft.

15th Airshow China opens in Zhuhai

China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.

Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.

Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.

Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.

Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.

China's commodity price index up 4 pct in March