Russia expects to sign an agreement with China by the end of 2015 on joint development of long-range wide-bodied airliners, a Russian aircraft manufacturer said on Wednesday.
Yury Slyusar, president of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), made the remarks at the Aviation Expo China 2015 in Beijing, saying that the technical parameters of the aircraft will be decide in March, 2016.
The airliners will not compete with the C919, China's first large passenger aircraft with 150 seats designed for short-haul commercial use, because the two models are different in passenger capacity and range.
The two sides are already producing aircraft components in Shenzhen, and Russia plans to set up after-sales service and training centers in China, Slyusar said.
According to an agreement signed in May, China and Russia will start leasing the jets from Sukhoi, a UAC affiliate, and sales of Sukhoi SSJ-100 will be allowed in China.
The Russian company plans to sell 100 aircraft in China and Southeast Asia in the next three years.