Russian Helicopters has denied reports that its Rostvertol unit entered a joint venture in China to produce Mi-2 helicopters.

"Russian Helicopters underlines that neither Rostvertol, a subsidiary of the company and the purported partner in this joint venture, nor Russian Helicopters, including any subsidiaries, are taking part in any joint projects in China to build or assemble light helicopters, or any similar projects connected with Mi-2 helicopters," said the company in a statement.

In an email to Flightglobal, Russian Helicopters added that it was looking into the source of the story.

A story published by Chinese newswire Xinhua earlier this week said Rostvertol formed a joint venture with a Chinese company to produce 98 Mi-2's per annum. The story was picked up by several other news outlets.

"The Mi-2 is not in production by Russian Helicopters and is not included in the modern lineup," added Russian Helicopters.

"There are no plans to jointly manufacture these machines in any foreign state," it said.

Source: Flight International