MOSCOW, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- From sedans to electricity, Chinese and Russian companies are trading a much longer list of goods. Thevolume of annual bilateral trade is very likely to hit the 80 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 set by the Chinese and Russian governments.

    The national theme years in China and Russia in the last two years have strengthened cooperation on trade and economy and yielded fruitful results. Economic and trade cooperation is an important component of the China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership.

    In 2006, when the "Year of Russia" was held in China, bilateral trade volume reached a record high of 33.4 billion dollars, a 15-percent year-on-year increase.

    And in the first nine months of 2007, bilateral trade surged to 34.9 billion dollars, surpassing the total trade volume of 2006.

    In Moscow this March, Chinese and Russian companies signed 21 contracts worth up to 4.3 billion dollars on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the "Year of China."

    According to 17 of these contracts, China will sell automobiles, electric home appliance, sanitation facilities and agricultural products to Russia and buy goods such as machinery and steel products.

    The other four contracts were signed for economic cooperation projects including timber processing, ship building and mine exploration. China has set a target of boosting its investment in Russia to 12 billion dollars by 2020.

    Some 30 joint economic projects, covering energy, investment, finance, communication to transportation, have been launched under the framework of the "Year of China."

    In the energy sector, Russian companies have sent oil to China via railways, transported electricity to China's border regions, prepared the construction of oil pipe lines to China and worked with Chinese companies on the Tianwan nuclear plant which began commercial operations in August.

    China is now Russia's third largest trade partner and Russia is China's eighth largest. Bilateral trade has increased at an annual average rate of almost 30 percent for the past eight years, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou said earlier this month.

    "In respect of trade, (we) should not only increase the volume, but also improve the trade structure and quality," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said ahead of his 24-hour visit to Moscow Monday.

    In the theme years, which were initiated by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2005, various trade and investment conferences and fairs have also fueled two-way investment.

    During Premier Wen's visit, the second China-Russia economic and trade summit will be held in Moscow. Some 700 guests, including Wen and his Russian counterpart Viktor Zubkov, other officials of the two governments and representatives from the business sector are expected to attend.

    China and Russia should strengthen their cooperation not only in the energy sector, but also in the field of machinery and electronics, Premier Wen said, calling on the China-Russia Machinery and Electronics Product Council, which will be officially unveiled during his visit, to play its role.

    Cooperation between the two countries' provinces and regions has also stimulated the development of bilateral ties.

    More than 60 Russian governors visited China during the "Year of Russia" in 2006, while governmental delegations from Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Hainan and Tibet hosted promotion events in Russia this year.

    The national years promoted tourism between the two countries as well. Thanks to the "Year of China," Russian tourists coming to China in the first half of 2007 increased by 15. 74 percent compared with the same period in 2006.

    As neighbors sharing identical strategic interests and enjoying reciprocal economies, China and Russia have broad prospects for economic cooperation. The national theme years have built a platform and sown the seeds for substantial cooperation in the future, when its effect will be more vivid.