Su-35 fighter-jet deal.
At the 20th session of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation, which met in Moscow on November 17, the Kremlin and Beijing finally agreed on China purchasing 24 Sukhoi-35 (NATO designation Flanker-E) multi-role fighter planes from Russia. Beijing has therefore become the first foreign customer for the Su-35. The transaction is also the first new Chinese contract for a Russian warplane in almost a decade.
The planes will enable Chinese military aviation to conduct longer patrols in contested maritime categories.
Growing cooperation with Beijing could be problematic for President Vladimir Putin's relations with South-east Asian states such as Vietnam.
The Su-35 sale to China is likely to increase calls from the Russian military for more T-50 stealth fighters to maintain the advantage.
The Russia-Turkey clash and Moscow's wider tensions with NATO will push Russia to make more concessions to China.
