Beijing, December 29, 1994. According to Reuter, "China on Thursday denied a U.S. newspaper report that Israel was helping it build an advanced combat aircraft with U.S. technology. 'There is no cooperation in this field', Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told reporters, 'The report has no basis'. The Times on Wednesday quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying they had confirmed Israel's role in helping to build the aircraft and were concerned at the move, which one expert described as 'ominous'. The newspaper said the new Chinese plane would be comparable to the U.S. military's F-16 fighter and would be based on the 'Lavi' fighter, a join project between the United States and Israel that was scrapped seven years ago".