China, Russia make 10-point agreement
7 Jun 2012 2:40 AM GMT
Allaying apprehensions of an emerging military alliance between them, China and Russia beefed up their ties with 10 ‘crucial’ agreements including setting up Russian nuclear plants and development of commercial aircraft and helicopters.
A closer China-Russia relationship benefits the world as well as the two nations, Chinese President Hu Jintao said playing down speculation that the two countries warmed up to deal with the new US policy to step up its military engagement in Asia-Pacific.
Russia is China's most important partner of strategic coordination and the development of relations between the two countries remains healthy and positive, Hu, who had wide ranging talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin here last night and signed a host of agreements, said.
Putin is in China to attend the six Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] member states ahead the 12th summit beginning here on Wednesday.
China and Russia are the dominant members of the alliance which comprised of Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
China denies any efforts to convert it into a NATO style military alliance. India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia are observers in the SCO.
During Hu-Putin meeting, the two sides signed more than 10 key commercial contracts including setting-up a USD 4 billion investment fund.
Putin also said the two countries are speeding up development and research on commercial aircraft and helicopters. The commercial contracts, which Putin described as ‘crucial’, also include Russia building two nuclear power plants in China, and more cooperation in the electricity, tourism and energy sectors.
There is no word about any agreement on the supply of Russian natural gas which was stalled due to differences on pricing. Russia is China’s major supplier of oil through pipelines. Last year Russia supplied 15 million metric tones of oil through the pipelines .
The Russian delegation accompanying Putin includes six cabinet members, the heads of Russia’s energy giants Gazprom, Rosneft and Transneft, and ‘all the major names of Russian business’, according to the Russian media.
Russian trade with China has risen at least 40 per cent year-on-year for the last two years to reach USD 80 billion last year. Russian officials say that a target of USD 100 billion in trade by 2015 is likely to be reached ahead of time. Though Russia supplies some of the top end defence technology including fighter aircraft, it has not fully opened it to Beijing in the past due to apprehensions of over China’s mastery over re-engineering.
Putin, who is on his eighth visit since he first took up the presidency 12 years ago, said China is not only a ‘good friend’ but a ‘good partner on the world platform’.
A closer China-Russia relationship benefits the world as well as the two nations, Chinese President Hu Jintao said playing down speculation that the two countries warmed up to deal with the new US policy to step up its military engagement in Asia-Pacific.
Russia is China's most important partner of strategic coordination and the development of relations between the two countries remains healthy and positive, Hu, who had wide ranging talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin here last night and signed a host of agreements, said.
Putin is in China to attend the six Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] member states ahead the 12th summit beginning here on Wednesday.
China and Russia are the dominant members of the alliance which comprised of Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
China denies any efforts to convert it into a NATO style military alliance. India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia are observers in the SCO.
During Hu-Putin meeting, the two sides signed more than 10 key commercial contracts including setting-up a USD 4 billion investment fund.
Putin also said the two countries are speeding up development and research on commercial aircraft and helicopters. The commercial contracts, which Putin described as ‘crucial’, also include Russia building two nuclear power plants in China, and more cooperation in the electricity, tourism and energy sectors.
There is no word about any agreement on the supply of Russian natural gas which was stalled due to differences on pricing. Russia is China’s major supplier of oil through pipelines. Last year Russia supplied 15 million metric tones of oil through the pipelines .
The Russian delegation accompanying Putin includes six cabinet members, the heads of Russia’s energy giants Gazprom, Rosneft and Transneft, and ‘all the major names of Russian business’, according to the Russian media.
Russian trade with China has risen at least 40 per cent year-on-year for the last two years to reach USD 80 billion last year. Russian officials say that a target of USD 100 billion in trade by 2015 is likely to be reached ahead of time. Though Russia supplies some of the top end defence technology including fighter aircraft, it has not fully opened it to Beijing in the past due to apprehensions of over China’s mastery over re-engineering.
Putin, who is on his eighth visit since he first took up the presidency 12 years ago, said China is not only a ‘good friend’ but a ‘good partner on the world platform’.
Next Story
