Establishment of aviation links between China and the Soviet Union

Identificator

EDN: CDKOAG ; УДК: 94(470)(510)

Authors

Novikov Mikhail Vasilyevich, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, honored scientist of the Russian Federation, head of the Department of Theory and Methods of Professional education of Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University n. a. K. D. Ushinsky. Russia, Yaroslavl. E‑mail: m.novikov@yspu.org

Journal

HERALD OF HUMANITARIAN EDUCATION №1 (41), 2026

Section

GENERAL HISTORY

Pages

53-63

Abstract

The article examines the history of the soviet‑chinese negotiations on the opening of aviation links between the Soviet Union and the Republic of China (KR), which began in 1935 and successfully concluded in 1939. It is noted that the initiative to start negotiations belonged to the chinese side. This was due both to the development of this type of transport in the world as a whole, and to the peculiarities of the geopolitical position of the China Republic, which found itself in land transport isolation after the occupation in 1931–1932 by Japan the North‑East of China, where the only modern land transport corridor with the Soviet Union and Europe was located – the China‑Eastern railway. During the negotiations, which were accompanied by long breaks, usually through no fault of the soviet side, issues of zones for the use of chinese aircraft with chinese crews and soviet aircraft with soviet crews, possible cooperation with the German aviation company "Eurasia", the creation of a mixed soviet‑chinese aviation company, etc. were discussed. It is emphasized that the issue of creating a mixed soviet‑chinese company to service the Khami–Alma‑Ata aviation line turned out to be the most difficult, with the participation of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) and chinese leader Chiang Kai‑shek. The problems of the authorized capital and customs duties on soviet materials imported into China were resolved at the very end of the negotiation process. It is emphasized that the Alma‑Ata – Lanzhou air route created by the People's commissariat of defense of the USSR for transporting soviet military aircraft to China within the framework of secret soviet–chinese agreements on providing military assistance to China in the war against Japan played a serious role in opening civil aviation links between China and the Soviet Union.

Keywords

soviet‑chinese negotiations agreement soviet‑chinese aviation company Hami Alma‑Ata authorized capital customs duty

Recieved

08.12.2025

Published

03.06.2026

References

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