The range of military equipment and volumes of supplies will be determined after the 15th meeting of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation, which is scheduled for today in Beijing. All decisions of the commission will be presented in the final protocol without fail.
The Russian delegation at the upcoming talks will be headed by Anatoly Serdyukov, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The next meeting of the intergovernmental commission is taking place against the background of increased competition between the PRC and the Russian Federation in the markets of third world countries, as well as a decrease in the volume of Russian military exports to China.
During the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to China, which took place at the end of September this year, no contracts on the topic of military-technical cooperation were signed. However, according to Sergei Prikhodko, who is an assistant to the President of Russia, several projects are under development, and some of them relate to naval and aviation topics.
Beijing's limitation of cooperation with Russia in the procurement of military-technical weapons is primarily associated with a significant increase in the capabilities of the Chinese defense industry, which is successfully developing its own development and at the same time successfully copying most of the Russian weapons.
At the moment, the only exceptions are the RD-93 engines, which are designed to modernize China's FC-1 and AL-31FN fighters. They are supplied to China by the MMPP Salyut to replace the engines of the Su-27 fighters, which have exhausted their service life and to equip the J-10 aircraft.
In the future, the purchase by China of deck-based fighters Su-33 intended for aircraft carriers of the PLA Navy is being considered, this will most likely happen if the Chinese copy of the J-15 cannot meet the required characteristics. In addition, the possibility of purchasing multifunctional Su-35 fighters is also being considered. Beijing is ready to continue purchasing aircraft missiles for Su-27 / Su-30 fighters, which are in service with the PLA Air Force.
At the meeting of the intergovernmental commission, the issue of the J-15 (copy of the Su-33) and J-11 (copy of the Su-27SK) will also be raised. The Russian side is ready to resolve these issues within the framework of agreements signed between the PRC and the Russian Federation on the protection of intellectual property rights.
From the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, the PRC was the largest importer of Russian weapons. The largest deliveries were made in the field of naval, aviation equipment and air defense systems.
