Chinese President Holds Talks with Putin

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 28, 2003

Chinese President Holds Talks with Putin

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Chinese president holds talks with Putin

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin on Tuesday. The two leaders reached a wide range of consensus on bilateral ties and major international issues.

During the talks, Putin said Russia is honored to be the first nation Hu has visited after his election as Chinese president.

The visit provides an opportunity for both sides not only to sum up the course of development of bilateral relations and the achievements, but also to draw up a mid- and long-term plan for future development of the ties, Putin told Hu.

Russian leaders attach great importance to developing friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations, said Putin, adding that he believes Hu's visit to Russia marks a milestone in the development of bilateral ties.

On his part, Hu said the new leadership of China also attaches great importance to developing the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries as Russia is not only the largest neighbor of China, but also a nation of important influence in the world.

The two countries are ready to abide by the Russia-China Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and the spirit of a series of important documents signed by the two countries in the past decade, Hu said.

Hu proposed that the two sides maintain and further strengthen the current cooperative mechanism between departments of the two nations, and high-level communication mechanism between heads of state, parliaments and governments, Hu said.

Meanwhile, Hu also puts forward a suggestion to broaden the communication and consultation channels into lower levels and new fields; expand and deepen bilateral cooperation on economy, trade, science and technology on the basis of equality and mutual benefit while taking into account the demands of each other's economic development; concentrate on big projects of cooperation and improve economic and trade cooperation both in terms of quality and scope.

Hu briefed Putin on China's fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and thanked the Russian government and people for their support.

The Chinese government has always placed in the first place the protection of people's lives and health and has taken decisive, yet effective, measures to prevent and contain the epidemic by relying on science and technology and through international cooperation, Hu said.

Putin said he agreed with Hu's evaluation of the Sino-Russian ties and the proposals Hu made regarding the further strengthening of bilateral cooperation.

Russia-China ties witnessed all-round development, especially in economic cooperation, since the Russia-China Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was signed in July 2001, Putin noted.

Russia is willing to work with the Chinese side to explore ways of expanding cooperation into the fields of environmental protection, finance and investment while carrying out the existing joint projects, Putin said.

The two heads of state agreed to enhance coordination and cooperation in international affairs in order to safeguard world peace and promote common prosperity.

Hu invited Putin to visit China next year, and Putin accepted the invitation.

After the talks, Hu and Putin attended the signing ceremony of some agreements on bilateral cooperation and signed a joint statement, considered the most significant aspect of Hu's visit.

Although Tuesday did not see the signing of a strongly anticipated agreement on the construction of a 2,400-kilometre pipeline from the east Siberian city of Angarsk to China's petroleum centre of Daqing, both state leaders expressed optimistic views on expanding co-operation in field of energy.

Putin told reporters after the meeting that Russia is planning to further the export volume of oil to China, saying that both sides are still undergoing feasibility studies on establishing a petroleum pipeline linking the two countries.

"All in all, Russia is willing to go for the Chinese market and to promote the development of those joint projects,'' said Putin.

Beijing-based observers indicated that the two countries are expected to sign a general agreement on the pipe-line construction in the near future.

This will enable Russia to provide up to 30 million tons of oil every year for a period of 25 to 30 years, said Li Jingjie, director of the Institute of East European, Russia and Central Asian Studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Aviation manufacturing is also widely regarded as a potential field for further co-operation.

Russian space chief Yury Koptev said earlier this year that the two countries intended co-operating ahead of the planned launch of the first Chinese astronaut into space late this year.

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