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              China Unveils Sophisticated Stealth Fighter Aircraft

   by Reuters

   China unveiled a sophisticated new stealth fighter jet at an air show
   on Tuesday, a show of muscle during a visit by President Barack Obama
   for an Asia-Pacific summit.
   China hopes the much-anticipated J-31 stealth aircraft, developed by
   the Aviation Industry Corp of China (Avic), the country's top aircraft
   maker, will compete with U.S.-made hardware in export markets.
   The twin-engine fighter jet was unveiled at the China International
   Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, an
   annual event at which China shows off its military technology, a
   Reuters witness said.
   The J-31 conducted a demonstration but was not put on display
   afterwards although a mock-up version was on show.
   An Avic spokesman declined to comment on any orders for the aircraft.
   "We were told not to do any promotion for the plane," said the
   spokesman, Fu Mingyao. He did not elaborate.
   There are slated to be at least two more J-31 demonstrations at the
   show, Avic officials said.

   Competition for US
   China hopes the J-31 will compete with the U.S.-made F-35 stealth
   aircraft as China works to strengthen its standing as an arms producer,
   according to China military watchers and state media reports.
   "Experts predict that the J-31 will make rapid inroads in the
   international market in the future, and will undoubtedly steal the
   limelight from the F-35," the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily
   reported on its website in August 2013.
   It said the aircraft would be particularly attractive to countries that
   are cut off from U.S. arms exports.
   The J-31 is about the same size as the F-35, the U.S. Department of
   Defense said in a report this year.
   Stealth aircraft are key for China's air force to evolve from a mostly
   territorial air force to developing the ability to carry out both
   offensive and defensive operations, the Pentagon said in the report
   about developments in China's military.
   The J-31 is China's second domestically produced stealth fighter.
   Analysts say development of stealth aircraft enables China to better
   project its power as it takes on a more assertive stance in the East
   China and South China seas.
   President Xi Jinping has been pushing to strengthen China's 2.3
   million-strong armed forces.
   Obama, attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in
   Beijing, is due to meet Xi on Wednesday.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-china-unveils-sophisticated-stealth-fighter-aircraft/2516115.html