The 13th Airshow China, originally scheduled for November 2020 and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held this year. It will likely take place before November, exhibitors said.

Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, will host the 13th Airshow China this year, Yao Yisheng, mayor of Zhuhai, announced in a government work report at a meeting on Tuesday, Guangzhou Daily reported on the same day.

Unlike previous editions of the biennial exhibition, which took place in November, this year's air show could take place some months earlier, some long-term exhibitors at the exhibition told the Global Times.

Originally scheduled to take place from November 10 to 15 in 2020, the event was postponed until further notice after careful consideration for the health of guests and exhibitors, safety of travel and quality of the exhibition, given the global situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event's organizing committee said in a statement released in October 2020.

The Airshow China has become not only an exhibition for the aviation and space industry, but also for the arms industry, as many Chinese arms firms, also for naval and ground weapons, took part in previous shows, observers noted.

As the air show was postponed for a year, more advanced technologies are expected to be on display at this year's event, analysts said.

One of the most anticipated items, the J-20, China's most advanced fighter jet, could again put on a flying performance after participating in the air show in 2016 and 2018. Military enthusiasts hope to see the J-20 equipped with homemade engines appear at the show, after it was featured in a People's Liberation Army Air Force recruitment video released in January.