Prospects for Russian-Chinese cooperation in aircraft engine manufacturing were discussed during Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov's visit to China, the ministry's press service said.
Alikhanov visited a Chinese aero-engine institute as well as technological development and innovation centers.
First Deputy Russian Prime Minister Denis Manturov told reporters in Beijing a year ago that supplies of Russian aircraft components, including engines, were being considered as a possible option for cooperation in aircraft manufacturing. He said this would involve adjusting previously approved interstate documents.
Initially, Russia and China discussed the joint creation of a Russian-Chinese wide-body passenger aircraft CR929. In 2014 Russia and China signed a cooperation agreement, an a little later the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC) was established and became project operator. Commercial deliveries were scheduled to begin after 2025, but first the Covid pandemic forced the partners to review the deadlines and move the start of deliveries to 2028-2029, and then anti-Russian sanctions promoted them to change the format of cooperation from joint production to customer-contractor.
'We have revised the format [of involvement in the project], corresponding changes in interstate documents should be made in terms of changing approaches. In other words, along the same lines as the helicopter, there is a customer and a contractor. Those competencies that are required from the Russian side, we are willing to join with these competencies in this project based on a contract of executors,' Manturov told reporters in May 2024.
In parallel, Russia and China are working on creating a Russian-Chinese heavy-lift civilian helicopter. The intergovernmental agreement on the project was concluded in 2016, and the contract was signed in 2021. As reported, its maximum takeoff weight should be 38.2 tonnes, its flight range is 630 kilometers, and its speed is 300 kilometers per hour. Serial production of the helicopter, according to the agreements, will be set up in China, with Russia supplying some of the parts.
Under this background, the 13th Annual China Aerospace Propulsion Technology Forum 2025 will be held on September 11th-12th in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province,The theme of the forum centers on the development of domestic medium- and small-sized aero-engine research and development technology and its industrial chain construction and layout, with about 300 guests, mainly from the engine research institutes and engine manufacturing plants under the AICD Group, foreign engine hosts, and the domestic production of engine impellers, impeller and blades of the private enterprises.