ZHUHAI, China. Nov 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and China will mount cooperation in designing civilian and military aircraft, First Deputy Director General of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Valery Voskoboinikov said on Wednesday.
"We expect China to become our market for selling both military-purpose products and civilian aircraft," Voskoboinikov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
First steps have been taken in this direction, he noted, referring to the signing of the Russian-Chinese program of civil aircraft development, production and supplies. The document was signed by Voskoboinikov and Zhang Hongbiao, first deputy chairman of the Chinese committee for defense science, technology and defense industry, at the international aerospace exhibition Airshow China 2002 that is currently underway in Zhuhai.
For the first time in the past decade, the parties have signed a contract for civil aircraft supplies to China. Starting from 2004, China will get five TU-204 aircraft, while 20 more planes are in the option. "We believe that successful implementation of the contract will pave the way for more deals," Voskoboinikov said.
Working groups will be set up by the end of the year to work out a program of joint development and promotion of civil aircraft. The program will cover a period of 10 years, the official said.
The Russian Aviation and Space Agency does not object to other forms of bilateral cooperation in the aviation sphere, such as selling licenses and organizing mass production of aircraft on Chinese territory, Voskoboinikov went on.
"We and our Chinese colleagues have agreed on the necessity for joint developments and production cooperation. These specific issues are being discussed. We do not think that China should only be a consumer of our ready-made products. We are ready to cooperate with it in joint development of assets that will later be used together," he said.
Twenty-six Russian defense industry enterprises and organizations are exhibiting their products at Airshow China 2002. "Among them are large companies such as the Sukhoi military aircraft corporation, Ilyushin aircraft corporation, Zvezda- Strela corporation, Ramenskoye instrument engineering design bureau, etc. They sent their delegations to Zhuhai to advertise their products," Voskoboinikov noted.
"China is among our most important partners and the largest consumer of products of the Russian aviation industry. That is why we have many common interests formalized by a series of interstate documents," he concluded.