China, Russia vow to press on with plans for widebodied passenger jet, Arctic shipping route

The two sides said work would continue on developing a long-haul airliner despite earlier speculation Russia would pull out due to Western sanctions

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s visit to Beijing this week also resulted in pledges to cooperate in fields such as artificial intelligence

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:00am, 22 Dec 2023Updated: 10:27am, 22 Dec 2023

China and Russia have agreed to work together in developing widebody passenger jets, Arctic shipping corridors and artificial intelligence after their leaders vowed to broaden cooperation amid tensions the United States.

The sanctions had previously raised speculation that Russia had pulled out of a joint project to develop a long-haul jet for fear they would have a knock-on effect on the project.

The two countries agreed to strengthen their “no-limits” strategic partnership and pledged to enhance trade and cooperation on technology at a meeting between their heads of government this week.

“We will actively promote cooperation projects in the joint development of long-range widebody passenger aircraft and heavy helicopters,” a joint communique released on Thursday said. It did not say how they would cooperate and which companies would be involved.

Beijing is hoping to develop next-generation widebodied passenger planes – a move that would further challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus in China.