China to strengthen energy cooperation with Russia
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China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Russia and other energy-producing and energy-consuming countries to jointly safeguard the stability of world energy market and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, President Hu Jintao said Friday.
President Hu made the remarks in a written interview with Kazakh and Russian media on the eve of his upcoming visit to Kazakstan, Russia and Ukraine from June 12 to 20.
"China highly esteems its energy cooperation with Russia, which is an important part in China-Russia economic and trade cooperation as well as a key component of the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two nations," Hu said.
China has been actively engaged in the development of international energy market and extensive cooperation with relevant countries in recent years, he said, adding that these activities are conducive to enhancing global energy supply and safeguarding the stability of world energy market.
Hu said China and Russia have jointly overcome the impact of global financial crisis on their bilateral trade, as the two-way trade volume reached about 60 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 and China has become Russia's largest trade partner.
Judging from the current growing momentum of bilateral trade, the goal proposed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last November that two-way trade reaches 100 billion dollars in three to five years is absolutely achievable, Hu said.
The two countries should give full play to their respective advantages to achieve better and faster development of economic cooperation by expanding trade scale and improving the quality and level of the cooperation, he said.
In recent years, two-way investment has been growing fast with more and more cooperation programs in different sectors, he said, adding that the two countries endorsed in 2009 the Sino-Russian Investment Cooperation Plan and the planning outline of regional cooperation between the North East of China and the Russian Far East region and East Siberia.
Hu said the two countries should work with the guidance of the two documents in the future and tap the cooperation potential in energy, agriculture, manufacturing industry, high and innovative technologies, infrastructure, transportation and financial services.
"China and Russia are both important emerging market countries and strategic cooperation partners that enjoy great potential in economic and trade cooperation," Hu said.
When asked about the development of China-Russia ties, Hu said the bilateral relations have maintained healthy and fast development since the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia was signed 10 years ago.
He said the two countries have established a sound high-level exchange mechanism and maintained frequent visits and meetings between leaders, and the close strategic cooperation on important international and regional issues has safeguarded mutual interests and promoted world multipolarization and democracy in international relations.
"The two countries have completely solved border issues left over by history," he said. "We offer each other staunch support on issues concerning sovereignty, security and development, especially core interests, with growing political and strategic mutual trust."
People-to-people exchanges have also witnessed robust development as more than 3 million people from China and Russia visit each other's country every year, which boosted mutual understanding and friendship, Hu noted.
"On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia, the development of bilateral ties faces new opportunities," Hu said.
"With President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, I will review the achievements and experience of the bilateral relationship's development over the past decade and set goals for the ties in the next decade by mapping out the cooperation outline in various sectors," he added.
Hu said China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation will be brought to new levels in the next 10 years through joint efforts, adding that the relationship will make more achievements, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make its due contribution to global and regional peace, security and stability.
"It is my belief that this Russia tour will bring fresh vigor to the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation in the second decade of the century," Hu said.
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