This is the first such agreement between the Chinese Committee on Defense Science, Equipment and Defense Industry and the RussianAircraft and Space Agency, or Rosaviakosmos, over the last 10 years.

Under the agreement, the two sides will work out a program of cooperation to be signed in six months. A joint commission has been set up to draft the program.

Four working groups will implement the program. Each will deal with a specific area: aircraft, engines, equipment and avionics, materials.

The agreement will allow China to participate, jointly with Russia, in the development of a new generation of civil aircraft, said a top Rosaviakosmos official.

The agreement was signed at the Dvigateli-2002 (Engines-2002) International Exhibition, which opened in Moscow on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2002)