President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday visited the Chendgu aircraft industrial corporation and described JF-17 fighter aircraft, jointly developed by Pakistan and China, as a major leap forward in bilateral cooperation.

The company is manufacturing JF-17 thunder jet, which has been jointly funded and developed by Pakistan and China since the launch of the landmark project in 1999.

He went around design and research institutes of the facility and its avionics laboratory in the capital of the southwest Sichuan province.

President Musharraf met with officers of Pakistan Air Force, who are engaged in the joint JF-17 thunder jet project.The maiden flight of JF-17 took place in September 2003.

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