ZHUHAI, China -- The bad news at the Fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition is that there will be no flying this year due to safety concerns, officials said Sunday.

Zhuhai, a special economic zone in southern China close to Hong Kong, is again hosting the biennial event, the only one of its kind in the country, from November 4-7, AFP reported.

The only displays this time round, however, will be static. The official reason is safety, following the tragedy at a Ukraine airshow in July when a Russian-built warplane crashed into the crowd, killing 76 people.

"It was requested by the central government (in Beijing) that there be no flying this year," Yu Binling, a senior representative of the airshow's organizing committee told reporters on Sunday.

"We hope that flying will be resumed at the next airshow (in 2004) which we hope and expect to be held in Zhuhai," Yu added.

The event was originally intended for November 4-10 with members of the public allowed to attend on the last three days, but this has now been scaled back to four days with the public admitted only on the final day.

Nevertheless, interest from the international aerospace trade is strong.

Forecasts by Boeing and airbus indicate that over the next 20 years, growth in China will mean a demand for between 1,600 to 1,800 larger jets. Brazilian manufacturer Embraer puts the market for smaller regional jets over the same period at around 500 aircraft.

There are more than 100 exhibitors this year, more than the previous show, with 28 countries and regions represented, according to the organizers, although one industry observer estimated there would be fewer true aerospace companies with stands, partly due to consolidation in the industry.

On the whole, Western armsmakers do not exhibit since they are prevented by their governments from selling weapons to China. There are, however, in addition to the big commercial players such as Boeing, airbus, Rolls Royce and United Technolgies, several Western companies that manufacture so-called "dual use" technology such as helicopters.

Not unexpectedly, Russian military manufacturers have a strong presence. China recently raised its number of Russian-built Sukhhoi SU30MK fighter bombers to 40, in a multi-billion dollar arms package.

Western responses to Zhuhai's predicament were sympathetic.

"You can understand why they want to be cautious (about the flying) but it is obviously a disappointment to everyone," said Martin Craigs, president of the Aerospace forum Asia, a non-profit networking group founded in 1986.

"But the interest in the Chinese market is still strong: Growth in China's aviation market is nine percent a year with no signs of it slowing," he added.

There have, however, been suggestions that Beijing is unhappy with Zhuhai and has considered moving the exhibition to Beijing.

While China's state-owned defense and aerospace companies are expected to have impressive stands, showing off many of the latest advances in China's military, civil aviation and space programs, the organizers said Sunday that rumors circulating on the Internet that a model of the F10, China's latest warplane, would be on display for the first time in Zhuhai were unfounded.

Aviation insiders had been looking forward to the unveiling of the F10 as the highlight of the event. "I don't know where these 'reliable sources' came from," said Qin Fuguang, deputy director general of China's Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense." He said the aircraft would go on public display when the time was right, adding, "I don't think that will be a long time."