Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Russia and China can intensify their political dialog and economic cooperation, which have withstood the economic crisis, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at the end of his visit to China.
"We were unanimous that we have all the conditions for further active development of political dialog, trade, and economic and humanitarian ties, and everything is available for continuing constructive interaction in solving acute issues faced by the international community, including the issue of overcoming the global financial and economic crisis," Putin said after talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao.
Putin added that bilateral trade and economic relations have overcome the challenge of the global economic crisis.
During Putin's visit to China, contracts worth $3.5 billion were signed. The largest deals were struck between Russia's national development bank, Vnesheconombank, (VEB), and the China Development Bank, and between Russia's second-largest bank VTB and the Agricultural Bank of China, each deal being worth $500 million.
Also, Russian energy giant Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation signed a framework agreement on natural gas supplies from West Siberia, the Russian Far East, and offshore Sakhalin fields to energy-hungry China.
Gas supplies that could amount to 70 billion cubic meters annually are expected to start in 2014-2015 while next year the parties could sign a contract on deliveries of liquefied natural gas to China.
In turn, the Chinese premier said that China hoped to further strengthen relations with Russia.
"The Chinese side is prepared jointly with Russia to take efforts to further develop our relations," Wen said.
