China will beef up its co-operation with Pakistan in development and sales of military and non-military aircraft in the coming years, said President Yang Chunshu of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

"The maiden flight of the fighter jet, the Xiao Long or the JF17 last week, was a clear indication that co-operation between the two countries in the aviation industry has born another important fruit," Yang said.

The JF17 fighter jet project, which China and Pakistan jointly funded, started in 1999 when CATIC signed a co-operative agreement with the Pakistan Air Force, Yang said.

Since then, CATIC, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Company, Chengdu Aircraft Designing Institute and the Pakistan Air Force have been developing the jet, he said.

"We will continue to work closely with Pakistan in the coming years to produce and sell the JF17 aircraft," he said.

"With efforts from both sides, we believe the JF17 fighter jet will have good market prospects," he said.

China started its long-term co-operation with Pakistan in aircraft manufacturing in the spring of 1979, several months after CATIC was established.

It was then that CATIC signed a contract to export fighter airplanes to Pakistan.

Since then, airplanes such as Qiang-5 and Qian-7p have been exported to Pakistan, Yang noted, with "Pakistan becoming China's largest trading partner in terms of aviation."

In 1986, CATIC signed an agreement with Pakistan to jointly develop the K-8 trainer, an aircraft model designed for training missions, such as take-offs, landings, acrobatics, night flying and spin flights, as well as armament operations training.

In 1994, the first group of six K-8 aircraft were delivered to the Pakistan Air Force.

Today, a number of other countries have shown strong interest in the K-8 aircraft.

CATIC, a 50-50 percent joint venture between China Aviation Industry Corporation I and China Aviation Industry Corporation II, is a large transnational conglomerate integrating technology and industry with trade.

(China Daily September 10, 2003)