Russian Rostec Corporation and the Chinese industrial aviation corporation AVIC have reached an agreement regarding strategic cooperation between the two companies, Addressing future joint projects in aircraft, helicopter, and engine production, as well as in the manufacturing of aircraft materials, avionics, and similar products.
Nikolai Volobuev, Deputy CEO of Rostec Corporation, and Li Yuhai, Deputy CEO of AVIC, signed the agreement for strategic cooperation on behalf of their two corporations on November 11, 2014, as part of the tenth Airshow China, held in the city of Zhuai.
“We particularly value cooperation with AVIC, which will impact key industries for which Rostec Corporation has all the necessary competencies” Volobuev said, mentioning the fields of helicopter and engine construction, as well as the manufacturing of aircraft materials, avionics, and other onboard electronics equipment as priority areas for the new cooperation.
He added that the agreement could lead to the implementation of joint projects in the Russian Federation, China, and other countries.
Another aspect of the new cooperation will be the offering of extended warranties, increase in warranty periods, minimizing the period of warranty repair and maintenance and arrangements for post-warranty service, thus overcoming a major obstacle the Chinese are facing in low availability and reliability of reversed engineered products.
Russian Helicopters, United Engine Corporation, and other Rostec Corporation subsidiaries have already actively pursued cooperation with companies such as Avicopter and AVIC Engine through work on projects such as a heavy helicopter. This is the banner cooperation project between the two companies, which benefits from the close attention of both of the governments.
AVIC is also considering partnering other Rostec enterprises besides Russian Helicopters and United Engine Corporation.
For example, VSMPO-AVISMA has signed an agency agreement to manufacture and sell titanium and aluminum prefabricated products to AVIC.
KRET is considering a partnership that will enable them to shape the format of the next generation of avionics and other onboard systems. In September 2014, a delegation from AVIC visited an enterprise of the holding company RT-Chemcomposite in Obninsk. The Chinese delegation expressed interest in establishing cooperation with Russian partners in the research and manufacturing of products made from silicate glass.
Rostec Corporation was established in 2007 to promote the development, production, and export of high-tech industrial products for civil and military use. The corporation brings together around 700 enterprises across nine defense industry holding companies and five civilian industry holding companies. Rostec subsidiaries can be found in 60 regions of the Russian Federation and export products to markets of more than 70 countries.
AVIC is China’s leader in the aviation industry, as well as one of the top companies in the global aviation industry. The corporation maintains strong partnerships with leading aviation companies worldwide and is ranked by the journal Forbes in 178th place among the world’s 500 largest companies.