Komsomolskaya Pravda: “Hu Jintao to Vladimir Putin: ‘You are a great friend of the Chinese people’”
Trade between Russia and China this year is expected to top $70 billion.
On the second day of his visit to Beijing, Vladimir Putin was welcomed by Chinese President Hu Jintao. The two leaders discussed the agreements that their countries reached yesterday, as well as future prospects.
"I am glad to have this opportunity to speak about the results of our meetings today and to discuss the entire spectrum of our relations; we are counting on your support of our plans for the upcoming period, which have been drawn up by the governments of China and Russia," the Russian prime minister said to Hu Jintao. Addressing him as "dear friend," Vladimir Putin emphasised that relations between the two countries were "advancing very successfully." "I would like to convey to you the greetings and warmest regards of President Medvedev," he added.
"You are a great friend of the Chinese people," Hu Jintao replied with a smile. "Despite your tight schedule, you managed to find an opportunity to come here, and this speaks vividly to the fact that you focus a great deal of attention on the development of our bilateral relations."
On the final day of his visit, Vladimir Putin also met with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Wu Bangguo. The Russian prime minister stressed again that bilateral trade between Russia and China this year would reach or even exceed an unprecedented $70 billion, and that Moscow and Beijing plan to raise this figure to the $100-billion mark by 2015. The parties also agreed on a wider use of their respective national currencies, the rouble and the yuan, in reciprocal payments.
During Vladimir Putin's visit to China, bilateral corporate agreements were signed worth over $7 billion.
Yelena Chinkova
