Economic cooperation a priority

Economic cooperation is an important element to push Sino-Russian ties forward. China and Russia have enjoyed sound cooperation in such areas as energy development, space flight and aviation, nuclear power, mechanics and hi-tech industry, said Hu, adding that some Chinese enterprises have shown interest in such areas as household appliances, automobile assembly, infrastructure and economic zones in Russia.

“Trade and economic cooperation as well as cooperation in investments remain our priorities,” Putin said, adding that “positive trends gaining momentum in these areas are quite satisfactory.”

In 2006, Russian-Chinese trade rose 41 percent on the year to $28.6 billion, according to Russia’s Economic Development and Trade Ministry. Russian exports to China were $15.7 billion, up 20.7 percent year-to-year, while imports were $12.9 billion, up 77.4 percent. Trade in energy and raw materials is growing most rapidly. According to statistics recently published by China’s Economic Development Ministry, the share of raw materials and initially processed production in Russian exports to China rose from 88.7 percent in 2005 to 90.5 percent in 2006.

Russian oil exports totaled 14 million tons last year (about 10 percent of China’s total oil imports), of which shipments by rail exceeded 11 million tons. Russian railroads are expected to boost exports to China to 15 million tons in 2007.

Putin noted that trade and economic cooperation with China also maintained good momentum in the past year, with enterprises from both sides becoming more interested in cooperating and increasing their investments. “Russia will support more companies to invest in China” and create conditions for banks to facilitate such investments, said Putin. Cooperation in the energy sector developed smoothly last year, with construction of oil pipelines well underway and cooperation in natural gas being strengthened, Putin said.

He added that cooperation could be expanded in such sectors as power generation, communications, civil aviation and the peaceful use of space. The two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in the areas of the economy, science and technology and security.

The two presidents also witnessed the signing of nine cooperation agreements on space research, customs cooperation and railway cooperation. The parties also signed several agreements on cooperation in the banking sector. In addition, Chinese and Russian entrepreneurs signed 21 trade deals valued at about $4.3 billion.

The Russian president also suggested that regional cooperation is an important part of the overall cooperation between the two countries and there is a huge potential yet to be tapped in this regard. The two countries should boost investment and large-scale cooperation projects in the Russian Far East and Siberian regions. Total Russian investment in China exceeded $600 million at the end of 2006.

“I believe the trade volume of the two countries will surely meet the target of $60-80 billion by 2010 with the deepening bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation,” Hu said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s Proposals for Promoting Bilateral Ties Hu presented the following five proposals for upgrading Sino-Russian ties during his Russia tour: 1. The two countries should become sincere political partners of mutual trust, further implement the concept of maintaining friendship for generations to foster peace that is set forth in the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, make developing bilateral ties a priority in each nation’s foreign policy and enhance mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests. 2. The two countries should act as economic and trade partners, carry out cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit while looking ahead to the future, and maintain the momentum of the fast growth in trade volume and mutual investment. The two sides should implement a development program designed for bilateral trade and economic cooperation from 2006 to 2010 and an agreement on encouraging and protecting inter-governmental investment. The two sides should push for substantive progress in their cooperation in infrastructure construction, energy, science, technology, nuclear power and the processing of raw materials, improve their trade mix, rectify the trade order and optimize the investment environment. China supports and will assist Russia in joining the World Trade Organization at an early date, and China is ready to discuss with Russia cooperation patterns beneficial to both sides within the multilateral framework. 3. The two sides should become partners in scientific cooperation aimed at innovation. Both sides should tap their respective potential and advantages to conduct scientific and technological cooperation at multiple levels and through various channels, set priority directions and key projects for future cooperation in science and technology, and make a medium- and long-term plan for bilateral scientific cooperation. Both sides should also expand cooperation in space, bioengineering and information technology, promote the transformation of scientific achievements and at the same time expand joint research and development, the scale of cooperative production and technical transfer. 4. The two countries should be harmonious and friendly partners in humanistic cooperation. China and Russia should promote humanistic cooperation through reciprocal theme years. The committees for humanistic cooperation between the Chinese and Russian governments have put forward a lot of programs designed to expand cooperation in culture, education, health care, sports and tourism, and their subcommittees have also defined concrete projects that deserve to be seriously implemented. The two countries should strengthen youth exchanges and train successors for the Sino-Russian friendship cause. 5. The two sides should become partners that help each other in security cooperation, strengthen strategic security cooperation, effectively respond to new threats and challenges, push forward security cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, maintain regional security and stability and combat the forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism. The two countries should also coordinate closely to promote a multipolar world, maintain strategic balance and stability in the world, cement a consensus, eliminate disputes and conflicts, and contribute to world peace, stability and development. (Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn)