Third Sino-Russian economic forum opens in Moscow

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-28 19:18

MOSCOW -- The Third Sino-Russian economic forum opened here Tuesday, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed the opening ceremony.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) and Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meet for talks in Moscow October 28, 2008. Russian and Chinese leaders called on Tuesday for world finance to use a wider range of currencies, and Putin suggested bilateral trade in roubles and yuan rather than dollars. [Agencies]

Wen, who arrived here Monday evening on a three-day official visit to Russia, spoke highly of the rapid growth of Sino-Russian economic cooperation in recent years.

Wen also tabled proposals for the further development of bilateral cooperation in energy, resources, trade, technology, finance, investment, regional and international economic affairs.

The Chinese premier urged the international community to enhance cooperation with confidence amid the global financial crisis, preserve the stability of the international financial system and promote economic growth.

It's necessary for China and Russia to join hands and strengthen bilateral ties as well as economic and trade cooperation under the context of changing international situation and fast growing economies of the two countries, said Wen.

Putin said that the Russia-China economic cooperation is based on common interests and has reached an unprecedented high level, which will also benefit the two peoples.

He suggested the two countries to further cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, machinery and electric products, energy, science and innovation, agriculture and infrastructural construction.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addresses the opening ceremony of the Third Sino-Russian economic forum in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 28, 2008. [Xinhua]

Putin told an audience of over 400 government officials and businessmen from both sides that Russia and China could enhance cooperation in the international financial system in a bid to cope with the current crisis.

The First forum was held in Beijing in 2006 as part of the activities of the Year of Russia in China.

Sino-Russian trade volume surged by 23 percent year on year in the first nine months of this year to hit US$43 billion, according to Chinese official figures. The two countries set the trade target of 60 to US$80 billion in 2010.

Russia is the first leg of Wen's two-nation tour which will also take him to Kazakhstan for an official visit at the invitation of Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov.

He is scheduled to attend the 7th prime ministers' meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.