China and Russia Wednesday signed 12 contracts worth about US$700 million in efforts to promote cooperation in investment and pursue mutual prosperity.

The two neighboring countries signed the contracts at the two-day China-Russia Conference on Investment Promotion in the Far East which began on Wednesday.

The signing of the contracts represents the taking of a concrete step in bilateral investment cooperation in the Far East region, said Ma Kai, head of the Chinese delegation and Minister of State Development and Reform Commission.

For the investment cooperation areas, Ma gave the priority to agriculture, fishery, forestry, energy, mining, textile and telecommunications.

Russian presidential envoy to the Far East Konstantin Pulikovsky said Russia needs China's investment and he is ready to deal with investment problems for Chinese investors.

Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref called on entrepreneurs of both sides to seek new investment fields, vowing that the Russian government would create favorable conditions for the development of cooperation.

The conference is co-sponsored by Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry and China's State Development and Reform Commission.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2004)