Exhibitors include US plane maker Boeing, its European rival Airbus, French military giant Dassault Systemes and Russia's Tupolev.

China's importance in the global aviation market was signalled last week when Airbus announced it would open an assembly plant in the northern city of Tianjin for its A320, which would eventually make four planes a month.

It also announced last week the purchase of 150 A320 planes in a deal worth about 10 billion dollars - bringing its total Airbus order to 300.

Speaking at the show, Airbus China president Laurence Barron said the event offered key access to the Chinese market.

"China is a very important market for us. Air traffic is doubling here every five years," Barron said. "It has already become a major market. We take China extremely seriously."

Airshow China is also a major showcase for military equipment.

State-owned weapons manufacturer China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is exhibiting a record number of missiles and fighter jets.

It is showcasing three ballistic missiles and modern global positioning system (GPS) guided bombs -- satellite-guided long-range strike weapons.

The display demonstrates "the advanced capability and level of Chinese missile weapon systems to safeguard its territorial air, sea and land," CASIC said in a statement.

Andrei Chang, editor of security magazine Kanwa Defence Review, said China had shown its advanced technology in military hardware.

"It shows they have the capability to export the Western kind of this technology, that they can manufacture, they can design (weapons)," he said. "It shows that they have a lot of investment." One highlight of the show is China's most advanced fighter-pilot trainer -- the "Shanying", or Mountain Eagle. The two-seat, single-engine aircraft is capable of carrying 2,000-kilo (4,400-pound) weapon payloads such as short-range air-to-air missiles and rocket launchers and bombs. Daily demonstrations will be held at the show, which runs until November 5.

The third-generation L-15 advanced training aircraft is also a focus, although the much-anticipated FC-1 fighter aircraft, which China jointly developed with Pakistan, is not here despite expectations, with only a model on display.

Government aviation procurement officials were also among the delegates.

"In the past, this exhibition has proved vital for us," said Awzy el Hafiz, the Egyptian government's representative. The show, being attended by 550 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions, also features demonstration flights of new aircraft from Tupolev and Cessna, and a closing display by the Russian Air Force's Knights Aerobatic Team.

China's rapid economic growth is fuelling its mushrooming aviation market, which in turn is driving increased production of planes and engines. Boeing has forecast a 7.3 percent annual growth rate in the Chinese commercial market, while Rolls-Royce, the maker of aircraft engines, believes it will need 2,600 new planes over a 20-year period.

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