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Updated: Apr 25, 2015 23:47 IST

China will deliver another fifty JF-17 Thunder fighters to Pakistan over a period of three years, Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.

The chief of the Chinese Aircraft Industry also told a Chinese daily that under the contract signed between the two countries, Pakistan will receive a total of 110 JF-17 Thunder aircraft from China. Defence minister Khwaja Asif had earlier announced that China would be building more aircraft in a joint venture with Pakistan but had not announced their number or time frame.

On Saturday, Asif said, “The jets are a symbol of friendship between Pakistan and China.”

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan earlier this week, a fleet of eight JF-17 Thunder jets escorted the special plane of the Chinese leader when it entered Pakistan’s airspace and also when the entourage left the country a day later.

Earlier, China said it would provide eight latest submarines to Pakistan as well.

During his visit, Xi also launched a $46 billion economic corridor to link China’s western region to Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea. The two countries signed 51 agreements to boost economic cooperation during Xi’s trip.

(With agency inputs)