China, Russia issue joint communique on ties

MOSCOW - China and Russia on Thursday issued a joint communique on wide-ranging cooperation and coordination between the two countries.

The document was released after the 17th regular meeting of the two countries' heads of government, co-chaired by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

The two leaders spoke highly of the important role the mechanism of regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers has played in the development of China-Russia relations.

They reviewed the achievements and experience in bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on further expansion of cooperation in politics, economy and trade, energy, science and technologies, culture, and also in major international and regional affairs.

The two sides stressed that bilateral relations have made major progress.

The two countries witnessed frequent high-level exchanges, firmly supported each other on issues concerning the other's core interests such as sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and solved their border disputes, which has laid a solid legal foundation for bilateral ties.

China and Russia have witnessed steady and rapid development of pragmatic cooperation in various areas, as the social basis of bilateral ties has been enormously consolidated and the two countries have moved in coordination on major international and regional issues.

China and Russia always make developing relations with each other a priority of their foreign relations and see each other as major cooperation partner.

The two prime ministers pledged commitment to further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination based on equality and trust, expand pragmatic cooperation in all fields so as to promote sustainable development of the two countries and contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the whole world as well.

TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Amid a fluctuating world economy and international trade, China and Russia have maintained sustained and stable development in bilateral trade and economic ties, the two premiers said.

To keep this positive momentum, they proposed that the two countries will constantly optimize their trade structure, strengthen investment cooperation, intensify communication in border areas and at local level, expand cooperation in high-tech and innovation, and promote contacts between the two countries' businesses.

The two sides agreed to take Russia's accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) as an opportunity to further develop bilateral economic and trade cooperation and enhance coordination within the framework of the WTO.

They will diversify the variety of traded goods between the two countries and scale up export of advanced mechanical and high-tech products, help the two countries' enterprises to build partnerships and bring the role of institutions supporting export into full play.

They will seek to bring bilateral investment cooperation to a higher level, with a focus on large-scale cooperation projects. They will also improve investment environment and increase related communication.

The two sides also agreed to speed up efforts to draw up a cooperation plan on the utilization of forest resources and prepare a solid ground for China-Russia cooperation in the intensive processing of timber inside Russia.

The two countries will support their enterprises in cooperating in the production and processing of aluminum in accordance with business principles, and promote exchanges between the two countries' pharmacy industries.

They will also strengthen agricultural cooperation and expand technology cooperation in priority sectors such as new energy, energy efficiency, information and telecommunication, nano industry, new materials, sustainable use of natural resources, agricultural technologies, modern manufacturing, bio-technologies, among others.

They will continue to coordinate in the implementation of cooperative projects on civil aircraft manufacturing and enhance bilateral cooperation in astronautics.

The two countries will also work jointly to improve cross-border transportation infrastructure in a bid to boost bilateral trade volume. The two sides will also have discussions on the further development of ties between their aviation industries.

ENERGY COOPERATION

Wen and Medvedev spoke highly of the results of bilateral energy cooperation and expressed the willingness to conduct further cooperation in areas such as natural gas, oil, electricity, coal, the peaceful use of nuclear energy and renewable resources.

The two sides said they support authorized companies in carrying out dialogue on natural gas so as to start transporting Russian gas to China at an early date and ensure the long-term stable and safe operation of China-Russia oil pipelines.

They are also willing to expand cooperation in the exploitation and processing of oil and gas.

The two prime ministers welcomed a revised roadmap of coal cooperation between the two countries and noted with satisfaction that Russia's electricity export to China grows continuously.

The two countries will mull further expansion of their cooperation on electricity, including the construction of power plants in Russia.

They also expressed support for further cooperation between the two countries in the comprehensive and peaceful use of nuclear energy, under the precondition of ensuring nuclear safety and based on the principle of mutual benefit and reciprocal accommodation of each other's interests.

The two sides also emphasized the need to intensify bilateral cooperation in environmental protection. They pledged to promote joint efforts in monitoring water quality in cross-border water systems, preserving bio-diversity in cross-border natural zones, and to prevent pollution and eliminate impacts of environmental disasters in a timely manner.

CULTURAL COOPERATION

The prime ministers were satisfied with the rapid development of China-Russia cooperation in culture, and approved the implementation of the action plan for cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides stressed that they have great significance to enhance communications between the two countries' youths and make it a long-term mechanism. Big thematic and sports activities involving the two countries' representative youth groups will be held in the next five years.

The leaders spoke highly of the Tourism Year of Russia held in China and pledged to work closely to ensure the success of the Tourism Year of China to be held in Russia next year.

The two sides will step up education cooperation, receive more students from the other country, enhance the joint training of high-level talents, and successfully carry out programs celebrating each other's culture or promoting languages.

The two sides will also strengthen cooperation in the fields of infectious disease control, recuperation, traditional medicine and disaster medicine.

The two sides will encourage participation of local movies in international film festivals hosted by each other, and the two countries' film making institutions will co-produce films in the subjects of common interests.

The two sides will continue to boost cooperation in archives, including supporting the joint survey research programs on the two countries' history and bilateral relations.

While on border issues, the two leaders believed the first joint inspection of the China-Russia border, which started in 2011, is conducive to ensuring the stability of bordering areas and has further enhanced the two countries' good-neighborly relations.

The two sides agreed to start formal negotiation in the first half of 2013 on a navigation pact of Chinese and Russian ships in the surrounding water of Heixiazi Island (Tarabarov Island and Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island).

The two premiers stressed that China-Russia strategic cooperation has a great significance for the promotion of world's peace and development, against the backdrop of profound changes in the global landscape.

As responsible members of the international community, Russia and China will continue to safeguard the fruits of World War II and the postwar political order, comply with the U.N. Charter and the basic principles of the international law, push the international political and economic order toward a fair and equitable development.

The two leaders reiterated that China and Russia have the same or similar stance on a wide range of global issues and will increase coordination on urgent international issues and in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, Group of 20, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS, the grouping of major emerging economies.

They also expressed willingness to increase coordination in Asia-Pacific and jointly push for the establishment of a new concept of security featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, and equality.

They called on countries in the region to adhere to the principle of non-alliance and abide by basic norms of the international law, to be open and tolerant and treat each other as equal and not to damage interests of other countries while safeguarding its own.

While recalling an array of documents signed between China and Russia during the 17th regular meeting of prime ministers, Wen and Medvedev approved results achieved by various bilateral cooperative platforms and praised their improving efficiency.

The two leaders agreed that the next regular meeting between the two countries' heads of government will be held in China in 2013. The specific date will be decided through diplomatic channels.