Special report: Premier Wen attends SCO meeting, visits four nations

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L2), Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov (R2), Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi (R1) and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov (L1) are present at the opening ceremony of the second high-level Sino-Russian economic forum in Moscow, capital of Russia, Nov. 6, 2007. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MOSCOW, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia signed a joint communique here Tuesday, pledging to further enhance bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, energy, science and technology, nuclear power, astronautics, aeronautics, transportation, banking and other fields.

    The communique was signed by visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Viktor Zubkov at the 12th regular prime ministers' talks between the two countries.

    The two sides will strive to sharply increase the proportion of electro-mechanical equipment and high-tech products in the bilateral trade, and will place great importance on the task of promoting the development of bilateral trade, the communique said.

    The two sides will therefore support the work of the China-Russia chamber of commerce of machinery and electronic products in order to facilitate the implementation of joint projects of mechanical equipment and other high-tech products, it said.

    The two sides maintained that expanding mutual investment should take high priority in efforts to boost bilateral economic cooperation, and both agreed to improve the mechanism of China-Russia meetings on investment promotion, and complete the program for China-Russia investment cooperation at an early date.

    In considering the reality that China-Russia local and border cooperation plays an important role in bilateral relations, and that there exists vast potential for cooperation in this regard, the two sides will actively make continued efforts to comprehensively expand and deepen local and frontier exchange in the fields of economy, science and technology and humanism, etc., according to the communique.

    The two sides also agreed that energy cooperation is an essential part of the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation, and they pledged to make efforts to promote cooperation in the fields of oil, natural gas and electricity.

    The two sides agreed to give priority to cooperation on nuclear energy while strengthening bilateral economic ties, and they expressed satisfaction at progress in this regard.

    The two countries will continue their cooperation in the construction of nuclear power and uranium-enrichment factories and begin implementing an agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy between the two countries.

    Among the nine agreements the two sides signed on strengthening cooperation, four concern future cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear power. The two sides also agreed to complete the construction of an oil pipeline connecting China and Russia by the end of 2008.

    The two sides will continue to actively strengthen cooperation in science and technology, space flight, the information industry, civil aviation, transportation, the banking industry and other sectors, and take steps to implement the relevant cooperation projects, said the communique.

    The two countries are ready to strengthen cooperation on environmental protection, noting environmental issues are of particular importance to bilateral ties. The two sides agreed to sign an inter-governmental pact on the exploitation and protection of cross-border water resources.

    In the fields of culture and humanism, the two countries pledged to expand and deepen their cooperation, according to the communique.

    It said cultural cooperation is of great significance to the formation of a broad social and solid ideological foundation for the establishment of a China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation.

    The two sides agreed to expand student exchanges, jointly train undergraduates and postgraduates and hold regular education exhibitions in both countries.

    The two sides pledged to promote Russian language education in China and Chinese language education in Russia. They also agreed to hold "Russian Language Year" in China in 2009, and "Chinese Language Year" in Russia in 2010.

    According to the communique, the two neighboring countries will set up cultural centers and organize cultural and film festivals in each country.

    The two countries also agreed to enhance their cooperation in the field of infectious disease-prevention and control, the development of traditional medicine and to strengthen the supervision of the circulation of medical products.

    The two countries agreed to expand tourism exchange and improve the quality of tourism services, and strengthen exchanges between Chinese and Russian news media.

    The Chinese side pledged in the communique that it is willing to provide the necessary support to the Russian delegation during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

    Wen, who is currently on an official visit to Russia, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two had an in-depth exchange of views on major international and regional issues as well as broadening strategic cooperation and deepening cooperation in various fields, said the communique.

    Both sides have agreed to work out and adopt the 2009-2012 plan for implementing the China-Russia Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation by drawing on the experience of successfully implementing the treaty during the 2005-2008 period, the communique added.

    The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the success of "the Year of China" in Russia, saying that the Chinese and Russian national years are unprecedented events in the history of China-Russia relations.

    Both sides noted that the national years have boosted cooperation between the two countries in various fields, deepened the traditional friendship between the two peoples, enhanced mutual respect and understanding and greatly contributed to further consolidating and deepening the strategic partnership of coordination between the two nations, the communique said.

    Both sides also expressed their satisfaction over progress in cooperation in economy, trade and culture and their appreciation of the work by the commissions in charge of the regular prime ministers' talks as well as bilateral cooperation in the field of humanism. Both sides speak highly of this regular meeting mechanism in promoting bilateral cooperation and pledge to improve the mechanism and make it even more efficient.

    Wen arrived here on Monday at the invitation of Prime Minister Zubkov, officially ending the "Year of China" in Russia, the second of the two national years.

    Russia is the final leg of Wen's four-nation visit. Wen has already visited Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Belarus and attended the sixth Meeting of Prime Ministers of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent.

    China and Russia have agreed to hold the 13th regular prime ministers' talks in Russia next year.