Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he was confident in the prospects of energy cooperation with "friendly neighbor" Russia at a press conference in Beijing Sunday.

Although there were some ups and downs in Sino-Russian cooperation in constructing oil pipelines, the premier still believed Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people will strengthen cooperation with China in "exploring and developing" energy resources such as oil and natural gas, and constructing oil pipelines.

The premier described Russia as a "friendly neighbor" sharing a common boundary line of 4,300 km and said "the two countries should be friends forever and never fight again".

According to Wen, Chinese and Russian economies are "complementary" and a series of measures have been taken to enhance economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The premier also referred to regular meetings of Chinese and Russian leaders, Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership of Cooperation, and efforts to enhance "political mutual trust", promote "strategic consultation" and strengthen "non-governmental exchanges" between the two countries to prove a "sound momentum" in Sino-Russian relationship.??

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2004)