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

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.

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"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.

The two nations first discussed the plans to develop a plane in 2017, when the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation set up a joint venture in Shanghai to focus on building a widebodied airliner called the CR929.

The Russian side was widely believed to have dropped out earlier this year, partly because of the sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian airline company was put on the US sanction list last summer, which could result in secondary sanctions on the Chinese project because many parts are still supplied by Western firms.

In September, Comac announced that it had set up a laboratory to design what it now called the C929, rather than the CR929 - with the absence of the "R" suggesting to many analysts there would be no further Russian involvement.

The joint communique also put the exploration of the Northern Sea Route - a plan to link the Baltic to the Bering Sea via the Russian Arctic - back on the agenda, saying: "We will further boost specialised cooperation in the Arctic shipping corridors."

China had identified the route as one of the three main sea lanes for its Belt and Road Initiative in 2015.

According to some forecasts, including one by the Russian nuclear power firm Rosatom, the route could become ice-free as soon as the summer of 2035 as a result of global warming - a development that several studies suggest could cut the time taken to ship goods from China to Europe by 30 to 40 per cent, compared with the route via the Suez Canal.

The two countries also agreed to work on cooperation in digital trade, biomedicine, the low-carbon economy and supply chain security during talks between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

They also plan to engage in regular discussions on artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation and open-source technologies, saying: "We will both explore the application of AI in emerging fields such as medical science."

In the first 11 months of the year, trade between the two countries rose by 26.7 per cent, year on year, to reach US$218.2 billion, according to Chinese customs data.

China is now Russia's largest energy buyer and is expected to purchase more given its rising domestic demand.

Meanwhile, its car makers are taking advantage of the withdrawal of foreign competitors to expand sales in Russia.

China is also increasing its exports of electromechanical products, home appliances and clothing while importing more Russian energy, ores, timber and agricultural products, according to China's ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.

Chinese visitors also accounted for a quarter of the total inbound tourists to Russia thanks in part to a mutual visa waiver, Zhang told Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik on Tuesday.

He also said Chinese firms are willing to work with Russian oil companies to find new investment opportunities.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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