China and Russia, two neighbors which are complementary economically, have special geographical advantages which create ideal conditions for bilateral economic cooperation and trade and bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.
Chinese State Councilor Wu Yi made the remarks here Thursday at a meeting with a delegation of Russian entrepreneurs led by Vice Chairman of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Oleg Soskovets.
Wu noted that Sino-Russian economic cooperation and trade has developed smoothly in the past decade and bilateral trade last year exceeded US$10 billion.
Noting that Russia is China's eighth biggest trading partner, Wu said that their bilateral trade makes up only a small proportion of each country's total trade, and cannot match with their economic capabilities.
She went on to say that a large quantity of China's top quality goods go to European and American markets and many well-known international retailers have increased their purchases of Chinese products.
China attaches great importance to Russian export orders, the supervision of the quality of its exports, and the exportation of quality goods to Russia through normal channels, Wu said.
She also said that the relevant Chinese departments have made full preparations for the delegation's visit in order to further expand bilateral cooperation and help remove any doubts Russians may have about Chinese products.
Soskovets said that most members of this delegation are visiting China for the first time and they are surprised at China's economic achievements as they previously held different views on Chinese products.
He noted that many Russian people lack knowledge about China's development, and hopes more Chinese businesses will go to Russia for cooperation.
He went on to say that through this visit, many Russian entrepreneurs have increased their confidence in bilateral cooperation and more Russian businesses will come to China.
Wu also answered questions on bilateral economic cooperation and trade put forward by the Russian entrepreneurs.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2002)
