Your Excellency Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to attend the Second High-level China-Russia Economic Forum with my new friend, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, in the beautiful season of autumn. I wish to express warm congratulations on the opening of the Forum and heartfelt thanks to people of all walks of life of the two countries who have long been committed to China-Russia economic cooperation and trade.

As a Chinese saying goes, "blossom in spring will bring fruit in autumn". In March last year, President Hu Jintao and President Putin attended the First High-level China-Russia Economic Forum and a series of events that marked the beginning of the "Year of Russia in China" and "Year of China in Russia". Together, they nurtured the flower of China-Russia friendship. Thanks to the hard work of the two governments and friends from all walks of life, China-Russia economic cooperation and trade have yielded rich fruits in the past two years.

-- Trade volume and structure have both reached a new level. China-Russia trade was less than US$30 billion in 2005, but it will exceed US$40 billion this year, representing an unprecedented growth rate. The proportion of mechanical, electrical and new and high-tech products increased from 17% to 26% in bilateral trade. The first phase of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant built in China by Russia has been put into operation. The Russian Tu-204 aircraft China ordered will soon be delivered. A great number of large cooperation projects in aerospace, communication technology and power equipment are being launched, providing new opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the mechanical and electrical sector.

-- Fresh progress has been made in investment and economic and technological cooperation. During the "Year of China" and "Year of Russia", the two sides signed agreements on investment protection and held two large-scale investment promotion meetings. The two-way investment between the two countries has exceeded US$1.6 billion. Projects with Chinese investment in Russia, such as the Baltic Pearl residential complex, Chinese Trade Center in Moscow and intensive timber processing in Tomsk are proceeding smoothly. The two sides have started to formulate mid and long-term cooperation plans in investment, energy, nuclear power, science and technology and aerospace.

-- Energy and resources cooperation has deepened. China and Russia enjoy huge potential in energy and resources cooperation. In recent years, expanded cooperation in this field has brought benefits to enterprises and peoples of the two countries. By giving full play to their respective advantages, coordinating mutual interest and accommodating each other's concerns, the two countries have conducted cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, forest and mineral resources in the form of joint development, pipeline construction and intensive processing. This has promoted sustainable economic development in the two countries and maintained stability in the international market.

-- Cooperation at the local level has enjoyed dynamic growth. Nearly 70 pairs of sister provinces/regions or cities have been formed between China and Russia. Border trade has taken up a stable share of 20% in the overall bilateral trade. Areas along the common border have stepped up port infrastructure development so as to lay a solid material foundation for their cooperation. They are also actively exploring new ways of cooperation, including building cross-border processing and logistics basis. The cooperation environment in the border areas has greatly improved, leading to closer exchanges in cultural, educational, scientific and technological and tourism fields. This has further boosted the good-neighborly relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Fast growth of the Chinese and Russian economies in recent years has laid a solid foundation for the bilateral economic cooperation and trade. The success of the "Year of China" and "Year of Russia" has helped deepen the friendship between the two peoples, and opened up broader vista for the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. I wish to take this opportunity to propose the following:

First, build on the achievement of the economic cooperation and trade during the "Year of China" and "Year of Russia". The Second High-level China-Russia Economic Forum will bring the economic and trade activities in the "Year of China" and "Year of Russia" to a successful conclusion, but the vigor and vitality of the mutually beneficial economic cooperation and trade will endure. We should work together to implement the projects signed and agreements reached during the two years, draw the blueprint for future development, establish and improve mechanisms and maintain the close contacts between business communities of the two countries and strive for greater achievements in our cooperation.

Second, speed up the optimization and upgrading of trade structure. China does not seek trade surplus. It lays greater emphasis on the improvement and quality of trade structure. We should not only conduct mutually beneficial cooperation on energy and resources, but also further increase the share of mechanical, electrical and new and high-tech products in the bilateral trade. We should give full play to the role of the China-Russia Chamber of Commerce of Machinery and Electronic Products, hold exhibitions and organize meetings between the relevant departments of the two sides, strengthen promotion and market expansion efforts, and facilitate the launch of a number of big demonstration projects. We hope to see Russian enterprises winning greater market share in China with their strengths in energy machinery, shipbuilding, aviation and aerospace, etc.

Third, actively promote investment and economic and technological cooperation. China will work with Russia to hold investment promotion meetings, encourage enterprises of the two countries to explore new cooperation approaches, such as intensive processing of agricultural products and other forms of modern agricultural cooperation and strengthen new and high-tech cooperation in the new materials, environmental protection and biological fields. The two countries should take full advantage of the opportunities provided by the Beijing Olympics, Shanghai World Expo and Sochi Winter Olympics to deepen cooperation in infrastructure development, use of venues and facilities after the events and operational management. Chinese enterprises are strong and experienced in infrastructure development and Russia has a broad market. Mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides in this area will become a new growth point in the bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Fourth, deepen cooperation in the border areas. China and Russia have a common border of 4,300 kilometers. We should bring into full play the initiative of the areas along the border, coordinate the policies of rejuvenating the old industrial base in northeast China and developing Russia's Far East and Siberia, further enhance trade and investment facilitation, improve cooperation mechanisms and build new cooperation platforms in border areas. Meanwhile, we should make steady progress in cooperation on cross-border water resource utilization and protection, so as to bring greater benefit to the local people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

The Chinese Government will, as always, support the multi-level, multi-faceted cooperation between enterprises of the two sides, and support their internationalized R&D, production and sales, as well as the creation of more brand names. All of you present today are the representatives of the business communities of the two countries. As long as we work together and make full use of our comparative advantages, China-Russia economic cooperation and trade will have a brighter future.

I wish the Second High-level China-Russia Economic Forum a complete success!

Thank you.