Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forward a four-point
proposal in Moscow Tuesday to boost economic and trade cooperation
between China and Russia.
Addressing the second high-level Sino-Russian economic forum
which was also attended by his Russian counterpart Viktor Zubkov,
Wen, currently on an official visit to Russia, raised the proposal
as follows.
Firstly, as the forum marks the closing of the economic and
trade activities of the "national theme years," both sides should
jointly implement the contracts and agreements signed during the
national years, develop a blueprint for the future, establish and
improve the mechanism for cooperation and keep the good momentum of
frequent exchanges between the enterprises of both countries to
achieve more fruits, Wen said.
Secondly, the two sides should accelerate the optimization and
updating of their trade structures. China attaches more importance
to the improvement of the trade structure and quality, instead of
merely pursuing a trade surplus, he added.
The two countries should not only strengthen their reciprocal
cooperation in the energy sector and resources, but also increase
the proportion of machinery, electronic and high-tech products in
bilateral trade.
The China-Russia chamber of commerce of machinery and electronic
products should play its role as a platform for cooperation in this
field, while Russian enterprises should make full use of their
advantages in energy machinery, ship construction and aviation to
gain a bigger share in the Chinese market, Wen said.
Thirdly, the two countries should actively step up their
cooperation in investment, economy and technology.
The two countries should make joint efforts to promote two-way
investment and encourage their enterprises to search out new ways
of cooperation in such fields as modern agriculture and new and
high technology, while taking full advantage of the Beijing 2008
Olympic Games, the Shanghai 2010 World Expo and Sochi 2014 Winter
Olympic Games.
Finally, the two sides should boost cooperation between their
border regions. Sharing a border of over 4,300 km, China and Russia
should further arouse local enthusiasm for cooperation in those
regions, boost policy coordination, make it more convenient for
business and investment, promote the mechanism of cooperation and
seek out new platforms for cooperation to bring more welfare to the
peoples in those regions.
This proposal was raised against a backdrop of the rapid
economic development of China and Russia in recent years, Wen
said.
What's more, the holding of reciprocal "national theme years" in
China and Russia in the last two years has also enhanced the
friendship and cooperation between the two peoples, which would
help further bilateral cooperation, he added.
Recalling these cooperation achievements, Wen said trade volume
between the two countries is growing at an unprecedented pace, from
less than US$30 billion in 2005 to an estimated US$40 billion this
year.
The proportion of electromechanical and high-tech products in
bilateral trade has risen to 26 percent from 17 percent two years
ago, and the two sides have successively launched large cooperative
projects in areas such as astronautics, telecommunications and
electrical equipment, which provides new opportunities for
bilateral cooperation in the electromechanical industry, he
said.
The two sides have also begun to formulate medium- and long-term
cooperative programs in areas of investment, energy, nuclear
energy, science and technology and astronautics.
Wen also praised cooperation at the provincial and municipal
levels, saying that nearly 70 partnerships have been established
between provinces and cities of China and Russia and trade along
the borders constitutes 20 percent of the two sides' bilateral
trade.
All these achievements have laid a solid foundation for closer
economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, the
premier said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2007)
