Interfax's Interview

 “Judging by the level of mutual trust, intensity of contacts, and results of cooperation, it is safe to say that our strategic interaction has reached an unheard-of level in terms of its range and depth, and relations between our countries have entered a qualitatively new phase in their development,” Wen said.

 The Chinese prime minister recalled that the leaders of the two countries had set goals for the development of relations of strategic interaction and partnership between Russia and China in March. “Both countries should seek to build partnership marked by sincerity and mutual confidence in politics, mutual trust and common preferences in the economy, joint contributions to innovation in the scientific and technological areas, harmony and friendship in the field of humanities and culture, and solidarity and mutual assistance in the security field,” he said.

 To attain such goals, the two countries should make efforts in several areas, including politics, trade and economic relations, scientific-technological and humanitarian cooperation, he said.

 Wen said he was confident that Beijing and Moscow need “to step up cooperation in the area of strategic security, efficiently oppose new threats and challenges, and defend common interests of the two countries by making a worthy contribution to the cause of peace, stability, and development worldwide.”

 Wen highly praised the results of the China Year in Russia and the Russia Year in China and called for “analyzing the record of their organization and putting on the events that proved to be the most popular with our peoples on a regular basis.”

 The organization of the China Year in Russia and the Russia Year in China “was aimed at strengthening long-term friendship between our peoples and comprehensively improving the level of strategic interaction and partnership between China and Russia,” Wen said.

 “This was an unprecedented event in the entire history of Chinese-Russian relations,” he said.

 “The events that took place within the framework of the Russia Year in China last year and the China Year in Russia this year have helped the two peoples to know better history, culture, and modern achievements in the development of our countries, filled Chinese-Russian strategic interaction and partnership with new contents, and brought our interstate relations to a new level,” he said.

 Talking about Russian-Chinese trade and economic cooperation, Wen said it is developing steadily and rapidly, and mutual investments between the two countries are growing.

 “Trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia has been developing favorably for the most part in recent years, and the volume of bilateral trade turnover is increasing rapidly. This figure increased by 42% and reached $32.9 billion in the first nine months of this year, thus exceeding the level of 2006 trade turnover,” Wen said.

 The structure of trade between Russia and China is improving as well, Wen said. “On the whole, I am satisfied by the general trend in the Chinese-Russian trade structure,” he said.

 “What is noteworthy is that trade in machinery and mechanical products between China and Russia reached $6.33 billion from January to August this year, which makes up 21% of the entire volume of bilateral trade turnover,” he said.

 Machinery and mechanical products have taken the lead in the structure of trade between the two countries, Wen said. Exports of Chinese motor vehicles to Russia are increasing rapidly and have reached $6.1 billion, which makes 36% of the entire volume of Chinese exports to Russia, Wen said. “It is pleasing to note that exports of Russian machinery products to China have also grown significantly – by 16%,” he said.

 Chinese markets are open to the outer world, although competition on them is quite intense, Wen said. “I am sure that enterprises in Russia are capable of improving their products’ competitiveness and increase investments in China. As regards us, we are prepared to provide assistance to our Russian partners in organizing presentations or taking part in exhibitions,” he said. 

 China hopes that Russia will take measures to improve its investment climate and protect the legitimate rights of Chinese companies in Russia, Wen said.

 “The Chinese government always demands that Chinese companies [operating on the Russian market] observe the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation. We hope that Russia will also take measures to improve the investment climate and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies to make Chinese enterprises interested in investment and business activities in Russia,” Wen said.

 He insisted on the importance of cross-border investments in economic cooperation between China and Russia.

 The Chinese government will take active measures to encourage strong companies to increase their investment in Russia on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, to push Chinese investments in Russia to the level of $12 billion by 2020, he said.

 “Proceeding from the current realities and factors that benefit the economic development of the two countries, it would be appropriate now to cooperate in such important areas as infrastructure, high technology, the processing industry, agriculture, forestry, and fishery, as well as mining and energy resources,” Wen said.

 Many Chinese companies are already investing in Russia, Wen said. “Not only has their activity produced economic benefits, but they have also contributed to socioeconomic development, trade and economic cooperation between the two counties,” he said.
 The Chinese premier said he believes the two countries should sign an intergovernmental agreement on Russian gas supplies to China.

 Beijing expects that the construction of gas pipelines to bring Russian natural gas to China will be carried out based on the timeline agreed upon, he said.

 “It is desirable that the relevant companies implement the project in line with the agreed-upon timeline,” Wen said in an interview with Interfax.

 “It is also important to sign an intergovernmental agreement as soon as possible so as to provide guarantees and support to this project,” he said.

 “As for the gas pipeline, Russian gas could be brought to China from both the eastern and western directions,” he said.

 Talking about prospects for the construction of an oil pipeline from Russia to China, Wen said he hoped “the companies in the two countries would be able to complete the design of the facility by the time stipulated in the plan and will then start laying the pipeline.”

 “Then oil companies would step up negotiations on the agreement on trading in crude oil on market-based principles,” he said. 

 “The strengthening of energy cooperation between China and Russia is an important agreement between the two countries, and the dynamics of the development [in this field] has been quite eloquent in recent years,” Wen said.

 “There have been efficient contacts and coordination between the government agencies of the two countries, and the relevant companies have discussed and implemented a number of major joint oil, gas, and electric power projects,” including in the area of energy equipment development, he said.

 “It was a China-Russia joint decision to build an oil and gas pipeline from Russia to China. It benefits both countries,” he said.

 Wen said he was positive about a potential expansion in Chinese-Russian cooperation in the civilian use of nuclear energy and noted that certain Russian and Chinese companies are looking into ways to expand such cooperation. 

 “The first phase of the Tianwan nuclear power plant is one of the major projects in trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia. Thanks to efforts taken by both sides toward resolving difficulties, power units one and two of the first phase were brought into commercial operation in May and August this year, respectively, and they are working properly now,” Wen said in an interview with Interfax.

 The outcomes of the construction of the first phase of the pipeline have already been summed up, and “our companies are discussing the expansion of cooperation on nuclear energy now,” Wen said. “We treat this positively,” he said.

 China and Russia “have achieved impressive results” in cooperation on nuclear energy, which “significantly strengthens the strategic partnership between our countries,” he said.

 The governments of both countries are “working intensively on the soonest possible signing of a protocol between China and Russia on midterm cooperation on the civilian use of nuclear energy,” Wen said. “The protocol will set benchmarks for Chinese-Russian cooperation in the coming decades,” he said.

 Asked whether China will join the international uranium enrichment center, Wen said, “The idea of setting up an international uranium enrichment center, which was put forward by a number of countries, including Russia, plays a positive role in consolidating the global regime of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.”

 “We are disposed toward constructive involvement in the discussion of this issue with all parties concerned,” he said.

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