Russia willing to further inter-parliamentary co-op with China

The Russian parliament is willing to maintain close contacts and positive dialogues with its Chinese counterpart, Russia's State Duma speaker said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"All State Duma members, regardless of their respective parties, fully support the further development of Russia-China inter-parliamentary relations," Sergei Naryshkin, chairman of the State Duma, or the lower house of parliament, told Xinhua ahead of the visit by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

The first official visit by Zhang since he assumed office in March will further promote contacts and dialogues between the legislative bodies of the two countries, Naryshkin said.

During his visit, Zhang will attend the seventh meeting of the China-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and will also meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The visit is of great importance to advancing bilateral relations in various areas," Naryshkin said.

The two sides will discuss a wide range of issues during the upcoming talks, Naryshkin said, noting that inter-parliamentary communication has played an increasingly significant role in the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

Currently, Russia and China are making frequent contacts in various forms, he added.

Recalling the sixth meeting of the cooperation committee of the Russian State Duma and the NPC held in Beijing in May, Naryshkin said he cannot agree more with Zhang's proposal on exchanging experience on legislation in such areas as economic modernization.

"Russia hopes to expand cooperation and share experience on legislation," he said.

A Russian parliamentary delegation will visit China for further communication at the end of 2013 to have experience-sharing discussions with their Chinese counterparts, he said, adding the two countries plan to hold "Russia-China Youth Exchange Year" in 2014 and 2015.

The Russian parliament also expects to conduct active cooperation with the NPC in international parliamentary organizations, Naryshkin said.

Russia and China adopt the same or similar positions on key international issues, he said, voicing the hope that the two sides will reach more consensus through political and diplomatic means.