Reforms will expand trade ties with Russia: Premier

China's reform and opening-up will provide more opportunities for Sino-Russian cooperation, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, calling for a deepening partnerships in such sectors as energy, transportation, electricity and infrastructure construction.

Li made the remarks during talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the 12th prime minister's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The SCO meeting was Li's first with the group, which, along with China, includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It also was the first multilateral occasion of Chinese participation after the reform-setting Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that ended on Nov 12.