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Sino-Russian trade ties get shot in arm
(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-15 22:53
In a move to expand trade links with Russia, China plans to invest US$12
billion there.
Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday
pledged to expand trade and strengthen co-operation on energy.
During their meeting on Friday, Wen said the two countries should use the
Sino-Russian Good-Neighbourly Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation to forward
bilateral relations.
In particular, Wen said the two countries should open their markets wider to
each other, increase trade volume and improve the current trade structure.
He said the two sides should regulate trade through the early warning and
consultation mechanisms on sensitive products and carefully handling bilateral
trade problems.
Wen said China is willing to increase investment in Russia on the
construction of infrastructure facilities, exploitation of oil and gas and the
high technology co-operation.
In fact, Putin happily acknowledged a plan by China to invest US$12 billion
in Russia before 2020.
Putin said the two countries should expand trade and strengthen collaboration
in energy, while giving priority to co-operation in high technology,
communication, transportation and value-added products.
These views were shared by entrepreneurs from both sides during the first
meeting of the Sino-Russian entrepreneurs' council in Beijing on Friday.
Officials and entrepreneurs asked enterprises to work together and promote
bilateral trade.
The council includes 35 Russian and 32 Chinese enterprises. It will offer
consulting services to businesses in both countries, said Wan Jifei, chairman of
the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the group on
enterprises and industrial co-operation of the Sino-Russian Committee for
Friendship, Peace and Development.
The council will encourage its members to settle trade disputes through
friendly consultation, mediation and arbitration, provide advice on economic
co-operation to the two governments and support participation in fairs,
exhibitions and symposiums, said Wan.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told the conference that
Russia-China trade kept growing rapidly and the co-operation agreements signed
during President Putin's current visit to China have set the direction of
bilateral economic and trade development.
There is still great potentialto increase trade volume and co-operation, Wan
said.
The establishment of the council will provide a new platform in this regard.
According to official Chinese statistics, trade volume between China and
Russia reached nearly US$15.8 billion in 2003, up 32 per cent over the same
period of 2002.
The amount of this year is expected to reach US$20 billion.
Putin yesterday also met with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress.
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