China to get 34 Russian helicopters by August

Beijing, May 20 (IANS) Russia will complete the sale of 34 transport helicopters to China by August, the China Daily quoted a Russian new agency as saying Friday.
The Mi-171 helicopters are being built at a plant in Russia's Buryat republic. The plant is a part of the Russian Helicopters Holding, the Interfax news agency report stated.
The contract for building the helicopters was signed in 2010, said Leonid Belykh, the plant's chief executive officer.
"This is not the first and hopefully not the last contract with our Chinese partners," he said.
Belykh said that Russian helicopter builders have been gradually shifting their cooperation with China from direct shipment to joint projects.
Russia and China have been negotiating on a joint venture for localising the assembly of the Russian helicopters, he said.
The Mi-171 can be used for both commercial and military purposes.

(Mangalorean.com)