Chinese president arrives in Moscow to boost cooperation

Chinese President Hu Jintao (front) arrives in Moscow, Russia, June
15, 2011. Hu Jintao arrived in Moscow Wednesday for a state visit to
Russia to deepen pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia. He
will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum during
visit. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a state
visit aimed at deepening pragmatic cooperation between China and
Russia.

Hu said in a statement released upon his arrival at the airport that
his visit intends to inject fresh impetus into the sustained, healthy
and stable growth of the China-Russia strategic partnership of
cooperation.

In the Russian capital, Hu will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The two sides will exchange views
on planning for the development of China-Russia relations in the next
decade and on major regional and international issues.

As the international situation is undergoing profound and complicated
changes, the great cause of peace and development of the mankind now
faces a number of challenges, Hu said in his statement.

Hu expressed China's willingness to work with Moscow to focus on
deepening the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation in an
all-round way.

Noting that this year marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of
the China-Russia Treaty on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and
Cooperation, Hu said the two countries should always adhere to the
principles of the treaty and advocate the idea of friendship from
generation to generation.

He said China is ready to work with Russia to make new and greater
contributions to the sustainable growth and comprehensive rejuvenation
of the two countries, as well as to the benefits of their peoples and
to world peace and development.` Over the past decade, the
China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation has seen
unprecedented development under the guidance of the principles and
spirit of the treaty, Hu said, citing strengthened political mutual
trust, enhanced pragmatic cooperation in an all-round way and improved
cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.

China and Russia have also carried out effective and fruitful
coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs,
said the Chinese president.

Hu said that growth of China-Russia relations has promoted the
development of both countries, pushed forward the process of
multi-polarization of the world and played an important role in
promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

In the past decade, the development of China-Russia ties has made
remarkable progress. Political and strategic mutual trust between the
two nations have deepened continuously. The two countries have
established mechanisms for high-level exchange of visits and all-round
cooperation.


Chinese President Hu Jintao (front) arrives in Moscow, Russia, June
15, 2011. Hu Jintao arrived in Moscow Wednesday for a state visit to
Russia to deepen pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia. He
will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum during
visit. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

The two nations have become each other's major trading partner, and
have coordinated closely in dealing with major world and regional
affairs.

In 2010, Hu and Medvedev held six bilateral meetings, and reached
important agreements on further deepening the China-Russia strategic
partnership of cooperation.

Last year, their two-way trade volume reached 55.4 billion U.S.
dollars, an increase of 43 percent over the previous year.

In the first part of this year, the development of bilateral ties has
maintained a sound momentum.

Two months ago, the Chinese and Russian presidents met for the first
time this year on the sidelines of a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa) summit in the southern Chinese beach resort of
Sanya, and the two leaders agreed to further improve cooperation and
safeguard common interests.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) is greeted by Russian Culture Minister
Alexander Avdeyev upon his arrival in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2011.
Hu Jintao arrived in Moscow Wednesday for a state visit to Russia to
deepen pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia. He will attend
the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum during visit.
(Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

The China-Russia oil pipeline started operation at the beginning of
this year, and the fifth round of their strategic security
consultations last January was a great success.

In the first four months of this year, bilateral trade stood at 22.3
billion dollars. The two countries have also had closer coordination
and cooperation in dealing with international and regional affairs.

Speaking at a press conference last month, Medvedev spoke highly of
bilateral ties between Russia and China, saying their bilateral
cooperation has bright prospects.

"I think our relations are excellent. As my Chinese partners' saying,
we might have never had such advanced and good relations," Medvedev
said. "We hope our relations will continue boosting in the next years
and decades."

Meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi last month,
the Russian president said that Hu's visit is a big event for
bilateral ties, and Russia would give high priority and make joint
efforts with China to ensure the success of the visit.

Hu flew to Moscow from Astana after a visit to Kazakhstan and a
Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

From Moscow, the Chinese president will travel to St. Petersburg,
where he is expected to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of
the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.