Two countries extend 'strategic partnership'to many industries

BEIJING - Russia and China are planning for more joint projects - including those in energy - over the next few decades, said the Russian ambassador to China.

He said that the "strategic partnership" between Beijing and Moscow, which was established in 1996, is not merely symbolic.

"The bilateral relationship has been updating with new content constantly coming in. It is no exaggeration to say that ongoing projects based on our strategic partnership will continue for the coming few decades and plans for more cooperation are under discussion right now," said Sergei Razov.

China and Russia enjoy a broad range of cooperation in industries including energy, technology and aviation.

The biggest bilateral project is the oil pipeline from eastern Russia to northern China, which will export 15 million tons of oil to China yearly over the next two decades, he said.

China has overtaken Germany as Russia's biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching $59.3 billion last year - the highest ever.

Since last year, the two countries have promoted the use of the Chinese yuan and the Russian rouble in bilateral trade settlements. The New York Times called it a "small but symbolic step in their expanding economic relationship".

Razov said that Moscow is starting preparations for Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the country. China and Russia have interacted with each other frequently through different levels of bilateral meetings this year. The two sides have already initiated more than 10 dialogue mechanisms on various levels, Razov said.

According to the ambassador, President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart President Dmitry Medvedev met six times in multilateral and bilateral occasions last year. From 1949 to 1991, the top leaders of the two countries met only seven times.

This year celebrates 15 years of bilateral strategic partnership and the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries.

Razov said that Russia sees the upcoming BRICS summit, which will be held in Sanya, Hainan province, as not only a channel for close cooperation with China, India, Brazil and South Africa, but also a means to reinforce the multilateral structure of world politics and formulate a more balanced global finance system.

The BRICS summits, the ambassador said, have become an efficient medium for coordination within the G20 framework, making it more fair and democratic. "I believe such coordination will help us resolve the world crisis altogether," Razov said.