China, Russia to Further Bilateral Cooperation

China, Russia to Further Bilateral Cooperation

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China and Russia inaugurated a joint committee in Moscow Tuesday, December 5, with the aim of promoting bilateral cooperation in education, culture, public health and sports.

The China-Russia Cooperation Committee on Education, Culture, Health and Sports was inaugurated by visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matviyenko.

Co-chairing the committee's first session, Li said that the establishment of the committee at the level of deputy prime ministers will help strengthen the strategic cooperation between China and Russia.

During the session, Li said, the two sides will strive for a better planning and institutionalization of their cooperation in these areas. He pledged that China will work together with Russia to push their cooperation to a new level.

Also addressing Tuesday's meeting, Matviyenko said that the Beijing summit in July between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin has promoted the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation to a substantive stage.

Matviyenko said that in order to enrich the content of such a partnership, the two countries should strengthen their ties not only in the political and economic spheres but also in the fields of education, culture, health and sports.

According to Chinese officials attending Tuesday's meeting, the two deputy prime ministers had an in-depth exchange of views on concrete steps to improve bilateral cooperation in education, culture, public health and sports and reached broad consensus. Five relevant documents were signed by officials from the two sides after the meeting.