Chinese, Russian presidents vow to lift bilateral ties to new level

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev discussed bilateral ties and other issues of common concern here on Wednesday, agreeing to promote China-Russia relations to a new level.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the fourth BRICS Summit, which groups China, Brazile, India, Russia and South Africa, the two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to lift their all-round strategic cooperation partnership to a new level.

Hu said the two countries last year charted the course and set the goal for the development of the bilateral relationship in the next decade and developed a plan for cooperation in various fields.

The move had given fresh impetus to the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Hu said.

Hu expressed hope that, in the current complex and ever-changing international situation, China and Russia could take a more active stance to implement major consensus on bilateral cooperation, maintain close high-level contacts and bolster political support for each other.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to secure the smooth operation of various cooperation mechanisms to further advance collaboration on major projects covering such fields as trade, the economy, energy, aerospace, high-technology and culture, Hu said.

He said the two sides should jointly ensure the success of the Year of Tourism in each country and expand exchanges between their young people.

Medvedev said frequent high-level contacts and prompt exchange of views on bilateral ties and other major issues were of high importance in ensuring bilateral relations stayed on the right track.

He said Russia was ready to maintain regular exchanges of high-level visits and close communication.

Last year, two-way trade between the two countries hit a record high, he said, adding that energy cooperation on major oil and nuclear energy projects progressed smoothly.

Medvedev said Moscow was confident of meeting the goal of achieving 100 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade per year by 2015 and 200 billion dollars by 2020.

On the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organziation (SCO) summit, to be held in China this summer, Hu said China placed great importance on the meeting, which would be the first gathering since the organization entered its second decade.