China, Russia Start All-round Cooperation In BankingChina and Russia has reached their first agreement on comprehensive cooperation in the banking sector.An agreement to that effect was signed here Friday between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank for Foreign Trade (BFT) of Russia. According to the agreement, the two sides will carry out the comprehensive cooperation in all service sectors including credit, settlement and information in line with the principle of "equality and mutual benefit" and relevant laws and rules. Meanwhile, the two banks will help finance two-way trade, seeking long- and medium-term joint investment projects and promote Sino- Russian border trade. "The agreement is one of the positive results of the APEC CEO Summit 2001," said Jiang Jianqing, president of ICBC, and Yury Ponomarev, president and CEO of BFT. BFT and ICBC reached a deal in 1992 to act as an agent for each other. In May this year, the two signed another accord for cooperation in border trade settlement. |
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