MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China have signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of a new wide-body long-range passenger airliner, the Russian company said in a statement Tuesday.
“The combined efforts of COMAC and UNAC on the joint creation of a new series of long-range planes will bring cooperation between the two countries in the aircraft industry to a completely different level,” UNAC CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said, according to the statement.
The memorandum on cooperation was the result of two years of consultations between Russian and Chinese experts.
The new project will be one of the largest international collaborations in the aircraft industry, as well as in the hi-tech fields of both countries. The new plane is expected to eventually occupy a significant share of the international market.
A Russian delegation led by President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday for an official visit that was expected to result in the signing of a large number of documents, including bilateral, intergovernmental, inter-departmental and corporate agreements.
