China, Russia to continue cooperation in flood control

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Sept. 10, 2013. Dvorkovich is in Dalian to attend the Summer Davos Forum, which is scheduled to open on Sept. 11. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

China and Russia on Tuesday pledged to continue cooperation in flood control and disaster relief, with regard to floods that hit Russia's far east region and northeast China.

The pledge came out of a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Summer Davos Forum.

Prompt and effective cooperation between the two sides has safeguarded the safety of the two peoples, and shown the two countries' highly mutual strategic trust and full cooperation, Li said.

He thanked Russia for assistance in cutting the flood peak and scaling down the floods by upstream reservoirs, and vowed to continue to provide necessary help to Russia's flood control and disaster relief efforts.

Dvorkovich appreciated China's cooperation. He called on the two countries to strengthen coordination and promised to continue to provide assistance.

Rainstorm-triggered floods left 85 dead and 105 missing as of Aug. 19 in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces in northeast China. Worst hit was Fushun City in Liaoning, where 76 were killed and 88 others remain missing after a flood hit the area on Aug. 16.

During the meeting, Li and Dvorkovich also discussed the development of the China-Russia relationship and vowed to further push it forward.

Li said the relationship is at a new starting point. He hoped the two countries would deepen comprehensive cooperation and promote the development of bilateral ties.

Dvorkovich hailed the cooperation between the two sides in areas including trade, energy and agriculture. He said Russia will work with China to give full play of those bilateral mechanisms such as the energy cooperation committee.

This year's annual Summer Davos meeting is scheduled to open on Sept. 11. Li will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.

Summer Davos, also known as the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions, is an annual gathering of business leaders, government officials and scholars from around the world. China has played host to Summer Davos, alternately in Tianjin and Dalian, since its inception in 2007.