Trade war, spy claims cloud horizon for China airshow

So far, Beijing has avoided showing its hand in either direction as deals by Chinese leasing firms to buy foreign aircraft are either pushed back or kept private.

Recent U.S. allegations in court filings that Chinese intelligence attempted to steal information on a French-U.S. turbofan engine developed for commercial jetliners - a clear reference to the Safran-General Electric LEAP - could further fray relations, analysts said.

Beijing has also criticised the U.S. decision not to send senior officials to a Shanghai import expo that takes place in the same week as the airshow and counts as one of China's most important foreign policy events for the year.

"Right now the political winds are quite concerning," said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will likely make a deal with China on trade, adding that a lot of progress had been made to resolve the two countries' differences but warning that he still may impose more tariffs on Chinese goods.

China is expected to put on a show of strength in space and defence, with self-developed fighter training FTC-2000 aircraft, a historically high number of weapons as well as its latest unmanned aerial vehicles among the kit on display.

China's air force said on Friday that a number of Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters would perform demo flights, after having debuted at the show two years ago with a 60-second flypast.

Kelvin Wong, senior Asia Pacific defence technology expert at IHS Markit, said this would be part of the deliberate messaging often associated with the closely watched show.

"It appears the PLA (People's Liberation Army) is definitely showcasing its growing confidence in the latest J-20 combat aircraft," said Wong.