Russia's membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will
further strengthen economic ties between China and Russia, said a
senior Chinese trade official.
"The investment and trade environment in Russia will be further
optimized after the country enters the WTO," Vice Minister of
Commerce Yu Guangzhou told reporters yesterday.
The remarks were made as Russia finished bilateral talks with
the US on entry into the global trade organization. All
negotiations are expected to be completed this year.
Yu said his prediction of enhanced trade is based on China's
performance after it entered the WTO in 2001.
He added that China expects to restructure bilateral trade by
promoting exchanges in machinery and electronic products, as well
as in wood processing.
"The two sides should improve the efficiency of our cooperation
and expand the content," said S.S. Tsyplakov, Russia's trade
representative to China.
Governments of the two nations are planning more events to
encourage two-way trade and investment this year, including the
China National Expo in Moscow, the largest event of its kind in
Russia.
The exposition, scheduled for March 26 to 29, will showcase the
best of China's manufacturing industries, such as textiles,
equipment, heavy machinery and vehicles.
The event is also expected to match businesses from the two
sides, promote cooperation on major projects and display some
10,000 Chinese products.
According to Yu, a number of cooperation projects are expected
to be signed at the event.
In order to boost China's automobile exports to the country, a
parade of made-in-China vehicles will be held in Russia in
June.
The two neighbors saw brisk growth in bilateral trade and
investment last year.
Sino-Russian trade volume grew 15 percent in 2006 over the
previous year to US$33.4 billion. China has become Russia's
fourth-largest trading partner, while Russia is China's
eighth-largest.
(China Daily February 15, 2007)
