Every two years, Europe's largest private aviation airport, Paris-Le-Bourget, is transformed into a giant shopping mall for airplanes, aerospace and military innovations at the Paris Air Show.

Visitors from all over the world, many of them in uniform, are discovering the newest trends and airplanes at the world's largest exhibition of the kind. Every 15 minutes the skies above the enormous exhibition terrain just north of the French capital is buzzing with demonstrations of passenger planes, helicopters and fighter jets alike.

While the aircraft market is good for 150 billion U.S. dollars a year, the mood in Paris is gloomy. Global tensions in trade relations, struggling economies and growing geopolitical uncertainty, have dampened the expectations of visitors and exhibitors. The problems at Boeing have also shaken the industry. The American aircraft manufacturer is struggling to get its 737 Max back in the air, after two similar deadly crashes in October 2018 and March 2019.

Airbus showed the new A321XLR, an improved version of its bestseller A321Neo. "We can fly from Northeastern Asia into South Asia, from the Middle East to Bali or from Japan deep into Australia, and so on," Airbus chief salesman Christian Scherer said. The European conglomerate hopes to sign the sale of 200 of these aircraft during the Paris Air Show. In spite of its problems, Airbus' archrival Boeing had a surprise announcement on Tuesday. International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, disclosed plans to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max.

One of the innovations was the presentation of the concept of flying taxis. Airbus wants to change urban mobility and has developed a new system in collaboration with the Paris Metro company RATP and with Paris airports. The taxis should be zooming above Paris in 2024, just in time for the Summer Olympics. The first two lines will connect the Paris Airport Roissy (CDG) with Disneyland, and with the Olympic Stadium.

From China, 19 companies showed their latest innovations. One of them is TCAE from Xianyang. They are producing titanium elements for aircraft. It's the first time the company has participated at the Paris Air Show. "We are big in China, now we're ready to conquer the world," said its CEO Wei Che. A giant stand of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in the main hall showed a life-size model of a cockpit and models of the complete ranges of military and civil aircraft produced by AVIC.

The Paris Air Show is open until Sunday, June 23. It is also open to the general public over the weekend. Over 300,000 visitors are expected to come to Le Bourget.

(Cover: An Airbus A321XLR flies over a C2 transport aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. /CGTN Photo)