The Chinese and Russian legislatures will develop their cooperation, Chinese and Russian legislators vowed here Monday.

 

Talks between Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (NPC), and Boris Gryzlov, chairman of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament), and between officials of the NPC and the Russian Duma, were the occasion for an in-depth exchange of views on inter-parliamentary cooperation and bilateral relations, and regional and international issues.

 

Wu proposed that the two legislatures improve the regular exchange mechanism to expand mutual understanding and political trust.

 

"We should maximize opportunities for special committees and friendly groups and boost exchange programs between young parliamentary members in order to consolidate the social foundation of China-Russia friendship", Wu said.

 

He also called for further improvements to legal systems and full implementation of the bilateral agreement between the two governments.

 

"We should not miss opportunities to discuss experience of national economic and social construction. We should also coordinate more closely in regional and international parliamentary organizations to safeguard our common interests and foster peace and prosperity in the world", Wu suggested.

 

Agreeing with Wu's proposals, Gryzlov pledged that the Duma would continue to promote its ties with the NPC, and cement links between the two parliaments through means such as the regular exchange mechanism.

 

President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed to host national theme years in each country to enhance the China-Russia Strategic partnership. The "Year of Russia" was a success in China in 2006.

 

The NPC and the Russian Duma established a cooperative commission in June 2005 in Beijing, chaired by Wu and Gryzlov.

 

The first meeting of the commission was convened in May 2006 in Moscow.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2007)