Seventeenth regular meeting between the heads of the Russian and Chinese governments
6 December 2012
18:30
Russian-Chinese intergovernmental talks
Transcript:
Dmitry Medvedev: State Council Premier Wen Jiabao and colleagues! Welcome to Moscow! Russian and Chinese heads of government meet regularly and today they are coming together for the 17th time. This is a very effective way of talking through what we have achieved and discussing our future plans.
We have already discussed a considerable part of the issues during our core meeting. I’d like to make a general note that our relations, Russian-Chinese relations, are currently the best they have ever been in their entire centuries-long history. We have a comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between our countries. And this partnership and cooperation is strengthening. Top level and high level contact, and regular meetings between Chinese and Russian Prime Ministers play a key role in this. Major work is underway as part of the Commission for Preparing Regular Meetings, the Commission for Cultural Cooperation and the dialogue on energy. I would like to stress that these commissions have also played a considerable role in our relations.
Now just a few words on trade and economic cooperation. This year has not been easy for the global economy; nevertheless our countries have maintained positive development in our bilateral commodity turnover. We expect to conclude $90 billion worth of trade deals by the end of the year. Our main tasks, of course, are to mitigate the impact of adverse external conditions, to improve the qualitative parameters of our mutual trade and to promote investment cooperation. In addition (and we discussed this today), the sphere of foreign investment requires particular attention. Mutual, concerted effort is needed. We need to use bilateral mechanisms and perhaps a plan of investment cooperation to fulfil the special road map in this sphere. We have many projects. Priority in cooperation should be given to high-tech sectors, which should be the engines of modernisation and the innovation-driven growth of our economies. Joint investments are very important in such spheres as transport. Cross-border trade is also very important, and I am referring to the needs of neighbouring regions. And by the way, this will be aided by the memorandum on cooperation of the transport agencies signed today.
I would like to repeat something I’ve already mentioned today. Our cooperation now that Russia has joined the WTO will be invested with new meaning, and I would like once again to thank our Chinese partners for their cooperation at all stages of the negotiating process. Energetic cooperation remains a very important driver of our joint development. It has already become very robust, comprehensive and extensive. And of course the Energy Dialogue that has been set up and is being granted the status of independent commission in the framework of the regular meetings of the heads of government will be very helpful in this regard.
We have also spoken about humanitarian cooperation today. Owing to direct human contacts, especially among young people, our nations are beginning to understand each other better and this creates the unforgettable atmosphere that is traditional for Russian-Chinese relations.
Today we must endorse a plan for promoting Russian-Chinese cooperation. We will continue conducting major events in the humanitarian sphere. We will also launch more joint reciprocal projects. We are looking forward to one of them – the Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia and are ready to give our Chinese partners all-round assistance in its conduct.
I’d like to repeat that we are moving forward in all directions. Our relations are very good – suffice it to mention a package of 15 bilateral documents on all avenues of our cooperation. I haven’t even mentioned a number of key agreements that are being now signed by business people on other venues. There are about 10 of them. This allows me to say that our meeting has been very productive.
I’d like to thank again all our Chinese partners. I’m particularly grateful to my colleague Wen Jiabao for taking part in this event as the Prime Minister and in 10 previous events as the Premier of the State Council. These years were very intensive and saw a major change in our bilateral relations. I’d like to thank you again for everything that has been done and to give the floor to you.
Wen Jiabao (interpreter’s version): Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen. I’m very pleased to be in Russia again and to hold the 17th regular meeting of the prime ministers of China and Russia.
Indicatively, the meeting we are conducting today is the last one before the powers of the current Government of China expire and the first one after your appointment as the Prime Minister. This is why I believe it is an important link. I’m convinced it will give a fresh impetus to the steady and dynamic development of Sino-Russian relations, our comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.
During the past 10 years we have jointly ensured the effective operation of the mechanism of regular prime minister meetings. We have reached a number of important results in practical cooperation. In 10 years our trade has increased from $12 million to $90 billion. China and Russian have long become priority trade partners for each other.
We are working successfully to implementvital projects such as an oil pipeline, the first phase of the Tianwan nuclear power station and an experimental fast neutron reactor. The second phase of the Tianwan project will begin soon.
Our cooperation in the gas sphere has been very fruitful. Our ties in the aerospace sector are rapidly growing stronger, in particular within the framework of the joint project to create a wide-body aircraft and a heavy helicopter, which have major strategic importance. We are also actively implementing a cooperation programme in the border regions, where we have built a number of cross-border infrastructure facilities.
Considerable success has been achieved in the sphere of environmental protection in the border regions. Mutual investments are growing rapidly, with direct investment on the rise and exchanges trading in the rouble/renminbi currency pair. We are also working jointly in high-tech fields such as biology, nanotechnology, new materials, information and telecommunications. The Russian innovation park Skolkovo has established cooperation with its Chinese partner, thereby creating the foundation for promoting cooperation in the sphere of innovations.
We have successfully held year-long cultural events, such as the years of the Russian and Chinese languages and the Year of Russian Tourism, which have helped us to strengthen mutual understanding and the traditional friendship between our two peoples. Furthermore, we are closely cooperating on important issues of global and regional politics and have been working jointly to further develop regional economic cooperation, which has a major constructive role to play in global economic management.
I would like to express our sincere gratitude to our Russian and Chinese colleagues. Thank you.
Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you.
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Following Russian-Chinese intergovernmental talks, a number of documents were signed in the presence of the prime ministers of Russia and China
The list of documents signed:
- Joint Communiqué on the Results of the 17th Regular Meeting of the Russian and Chinese Prime Ministers;
- Protocol of the 16th Meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Organising Regular Meetings between Prime Ministers;
- Protocol of the 9th Meeting of the Russia-China Energy Dialogue;
– Protocol to the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Creating and Organising the Foundation for the Mechanism of Regular Meetings between the Russian and Chinese Prime Ministers of 27 June 1997;
– Protocol of the 13th Meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Cultural Cooperation;
– Memorandum on Implementing the Plan of Action on Developing Russian-Chinese Interaction in the Cultural Sphere;
– Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Air Search and Rescue of Civil Aircraft;
– Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Preventing, Containing and Suppressing Illegal, Uncontrolled and Unregulated Catching of Marine Bioresources;
– Protocol between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in the Construction of Unit 3 and Unit 4 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station in China;
– Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China;
– Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China on Attracting Investment and Participation of Chinese Companies in the Construction of Transport Infrastructure Facilities in Russia;
– Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China in Implementing Joint Projects in Priority Areas of Development of Science, Technology and Engineering;
- Protocol between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on the Mechanism for Implementing the Memorandum between the Russian Government and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Economic Modernisation;
– Memorandum between the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Educating and Training Personnel.
Dmitry Medvedev meets with Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Wen, we are happy to welcome you in Moscow. We consider you a good friend of our country, a person who has contributed a great deal to the development of Russian-Chinese relations in recent years. The 17th regular meeting of the heads of government is being held today. This is the tenth meeting in which you are taking part.
I’d like to congratulate you with the successful 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China. Please convey my best regards to Mr Xi Jinping (General Secretary of the Communist Party of China), and Li Keqiang (Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China). We would also like to congratulate Mr Wang Qishan (Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.)
Our relations this year have been upgraded by important meetings. Today we will discuss all the developments of 2012, including top level agreements, and will outline our objectives for 2013.
Wen Jiabao (via interpreter): Mr Medvedev, it is a pleasure to be here again. You know that this is my last foreign visit as a politician, and it is to Moscow.
Over these ten years, Chinese-Russian relations have been developing dynamically in line with our strategic partnership. I feel that these relations meet the interests of our countries. In preparing for our meeting, my colleagues, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, member of the State Council Liu Yandong, as well as our Russian colleagues, have done a lot of work. I would like to thank you as well for your congratulations on the successful 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The new leaders of our country, including General Secretary Mr Xi Jinping, send their greetings to you and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
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Press statements by Dmitry Medvedev and Wen Jiabao following the 17th regular meeting of the heads of government of Russia and China
Transcript:
Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Wen Jiabao, ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to say a few words on the results of the 17th meeting of the Russian and Chinese prime ministers. My talks with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and other Chinese partners have confirmed the strategic nature of our relations and our shared aspiration to develop relations in all spheres. You have just seen for yourselves how many documents have been signed in this hall. This is a clear reflection of the level of our relations.
China is our next door neighbour and leading trade partner in the Asia-Pacific Region. We do appreciate this partnership. Despite the problems in the global economy in 2011, bilateral trade reached a record $83.5 billion. We can now raise it to the target of $100 billion in the next few years and to $200 billion by 2020. This is an ambitious but achievable goal.
However, the issue is not the quantity of trade, though that is important and makes us feel leading partners. We must upgrade the quality of economic cooperation. Right now, trade takes precedence over everything else, and we have spoken about this today. But this is not fully in keeping with modern trends of economic development. It is vital to boost the share of investment cooperation. It is important to develop high-tech cooperation. Today we have signed agreements on nuclear power engineering, civil aircraft building, space exploration and information technology.
We have discussed our energy cooperation in all spheres – gas, oil, nuclear power and coal – because this is extremely important, and we’ve set courses for the future. We believe our prospects are very good. I’m confident we will sign agreements on all these spheres in the near future. They are laying the foundation of Russian-Chinese partnership for decades to come.
We are also developing our cross-border and regional ties. Today more than 60 regions in Russia have direct contacts with Chinese provinces. Strengthening these contacts is also a priority. It will contribute to the implementation of the programme of cooperation between the regions of the Far East, Eastern Siberia, and China’s north-east. This programme was adopted in September 2009.
At the meeting we discussed the results of the Year of Russian Tourism in China, which has concluded; and we discussed holding a Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia. We adopted a comprehensive plan of action on developing Russian-Chinese cultural cooperation. It is important to build up direct contacts between our universities, especially those specialising in teaching our languages, Russian and the Chinese. We will foster such contacts, internships and student exchange programmes. Our languages are very important for communication. In fact, the Chinese language has currently become one of the most popular foreign languages to learn in Russia; and China has shown a persistent interest in the Russian language.
In conclusion, I’d like to sincerely thank Mr Wen Jiabao for his great personal contribution to the development of Russian-Chinese relations, our strategic partnership, for his unchanging ability and aspiration to work jointly with Russian colleagues, deal with the details of our relations and understand very delicate nuances of our interaction. This has always helped to arrive at decisions in the most complicated and promising areas of our cooperation in the past decade – in the decade when our cooperation has drastically changed.
Mr Wen Jiabao, I wish you new achievements, good health and all the best.
I thank all my Russian and Chinese colleagues.
Wen Jiabao (via interpreter): Friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon! Prime Minister Medvedev and I just held the 17th regular meeting between the prime ministers of China and Russia, and after lunch I will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I want to sincerely thank my Russian colleagues for the warm reception.
Today, here on Russian soil, I’m making my last foreign visit at the end of my political career. I think it has a great symbolic importance, and personally I appreciate this opportunity. This is the tenth and last time I will participate in the regular meeting of the Chinese and Russian prime ministers, so today’s meeting has a great associative significance. At the talks, we summarised the results of cooperation between our countries in the last decade in eight major areas: trade and investment, energy, space, aviation, interregional cooperation, finances, high technology, cultural cooperation as well as in our interaction in international and regional affairs. We greatly value the role of these regular meetings between the prime ministers of China and Russia.
Currently, a very complex process is underway in the international and regional situation. The global financial crisis is far from over; the risks of a global economic slowdown are growing. Challenged by this complex global situation, China and Russia should interact more closely in countering these challenges, accelerate our own development, and step up our interaction in the world arena in order to defend our own and common interests.
The Chinese side is ready to work together with our Russian colleagues, and make joint efforts in order to meet our targets ahead of schedule – to bring the trade between our countries up to $100 billion by 2015. In addition, we plan to advance our cooperation in the energy sector. We will focus on the following areas of cooperation: investment, value-added processing, science and high technology, as well as innovations. We intend to create an even greater number of large strategic joint projects through joint design and development and joint production in the sphere of space exploration and aviation. We intend to harness the potential of our region in our cooperation and also use market mechanisms.
In addition, the governments of our two countries plan to extend even greater political and administrative support to our companies and enterprises. The sides intend to continue to expand cultural cooperation and hold a successful Year of Chinese Tourism.
We are going to to participate more actively in management of the global economy and push for reforms in the international economic and financial systems.
Ladies and gentlemen, in all these years the Chinese and Russian leaders have maintained close and very serious contacts, built on mutual trust. In these years we have built up a high degree of mutual political confidence and strong friendship, which is a powerful catalyst for the development of Chinese-Russian relations. In our cooperation we always proceed from a spirit of mutual respect, consideration of the interests of the other side, and mutual benefit. And the people of our countries, including Chinese and Russian media, have shown great interest in cooperation between our countries. I think this is the source of our strength and confidence. I’m sure that we will continue to advance arm in arm.
The new Chinese leaders will continue to view our relations from the strategic and global perspective. We will maintain continuity in a number of important mechanisms in our relations, including the regular meetings between our prime ministers. We intend, jointly with our Russian comrades, to ensure an even brighter future for Chinese-Russian relations. Thank you.