MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi expects its cooperation with China to increase following the opening of its Beijing office Monday, the head of the company said.

"We intend to continue cooperation in supplying modernized Su-35 (Flanker) planes, in addition to other updated fourth-generation aircraft," Mikhail Pogosyan said at the opening ceremony.

He also said the maintenance and modernization of aircraft supplied to China would be conducted more efficiently now that the Beijing office was open.

According to Pogosyan, Sukhoi is interested in joint projects both in military and civil aviation and is diversifying its production and developing civil projects, such as the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ), the Su-80 general-purpose aircraft, and the Be-103 light amphibious plane.

Pogosyan said that although the company did not supply China with planes in 2005, the volume of after-sale maintenance in China more than doubled in 2005 as compared with 2004.

He said he expected maintenance services provided for clients in 10 countries would account for $200 million in 2005, compared with $100 million in 2004 and $15 million in 2003.

More than 300 Sukhoi fighters, primarily the SU-27K and Su-30SKM Flanker fighters, are currently being employed by China's armed forces as a result of 15 years of cooperation.