BEIJING, Sept 10: China is confident it will be able to sell a fighter jet jointly produced with Pakistan on the global market, and step up cooperation with Islamabad on the programme, state press said on Wednesday.

“The maiden flight of the fighter jet last week was a clear indication that cooperation between the two countries in the aviation industry has born another important fruit,” Yang Chunshun of the China Aero Technology Import and Export Co. said.

“We will continue to work closely with Pakistan in the coming years to produce and sell the aircraft,” he told the China Daily, adding that the jet had “good market prospects”.

On Aug 25, China and Pakistan tested the first prototype of the FC-1, also known in a confusing array of names as the JF-17 Thunder, F-7 or the Super J-7 and nicknamed the Xiao Long.

A public test flight was held amid great fanfare a week ago in southeastern Chengdu city with Pakistani Air Force Chief Kaleem Saadat attending the ceremony.

The jet’s design is based on the now defunct Russian Mig-33 jet and contains Russian avionics and engines.

Chinese state press reports said the fighter would be attractive to overseas buyers due to its avionics and manoeuvrability, which are comparable to those of the US-built F-16, a 1970s-vintage aircraft.

Although the Pakistani air force has ordered 150 of the planes, the Chinese air force, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), reportedly balked at purchasing it due to the ongoing development of a better fighter jet, the J-10.

However, the PLAAF has been recently considering purchases of up to 200 of the FC-1s, military sources in Beijing said.

Such an order would increase the production run and reduce the unit cost of the jet, they said.

China and Pakistan have reportedly poured in excess of 500 million dollars into the development of the FC-1, which is being built by the Chengdu Aircraft Group Corp, in cooperation with China Aero Technology Import and Export Co.

According to previous reports, China is targeting markets in the Middle East, Africa and South America for sales of the plane.

China and Pakistan have had close military ties since the 1950s and have jointly manufactured aircraft since 1979.

Besides jointly developing the K-8 trainer jet, China has also exported several other military planes to Pakistan, the China Daily said.—APP