China has agreed to buy 38 military planes from Russia in a sale that could be worth more than $1.5 billion, Russia's Vedomosti business newspaper reported on Thursday. It said the deal will be signed later on Thursday.
Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan is in Moscow to discuss military co-operation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov, including arms sales from Russia, the world's No 2 arms exporter.
Vedomosti quoted a Russian source familiar with the progress of talks between the two defence ministers as saying China would buy Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft and Il-78 re-fuelling planes.
It quoted defence expert Konstantin Makienko as saying the deal would be worth more than $1.5 billion.