Ukraine urges China to boost cooperation in aircraft industry

20/6 Tass 221

KIEV, June 20 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine comes out in favour of boosting
cooperation with China in the aircraft industry.
"We have good prospects in that sector, as well as in the sphere of
engine production," President Viktor Yanukovich said at talks with Chinese
President Hu Jintao on Monday.
He believes the Antonov state enterprise could cooperate with Chinese
aircraft plants, for example in jointly designing a big and a medium-size
transport plane, a turbojet transport plane, as well as in the joint
production of An-70, An-148 and An-158 aircraft.
In that connection, Yanukovich has offered his Chinese counterpart to
give instructions to the two countries' governments to look into possible
projects that could be implemented in that sphere shortly.
On April 20, Ukraine and China set up an intergovernmental commission
for cooperation, and its first session drew special attention to the
development of cooperation in the aircraft industry, including cooperation
between Ukraine's Antonov (Kiev) and the Chinese industrial corporation
AVIC.
The session also stressed a need to increase supplies of aircraft
engines and engine spare parts, as well as to work on joint projects to
design planes of different modifications.
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