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Russia and China sign trade and energy deals
AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalzie
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, left, toasts with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Thursday Nov. 9, 2006.By Robert J. Saiget
AFP
BEIJING
Petroleumworld.com 11 10 06
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov held talks with top Chinese leaders on Thursday aimed at shoring up bilateral ties and pushing forward a series of large-ticket economic and trade projects.
Fradkov, on the first day of a two-day visit, met his counterpart Wen Jiabao and the two oversaw the signing of 14 economic agreements including pacts to provide Russian oil and electricity to China.
No further details on the agreements were provided.
However, Russia, the world's second-largest export of oil, has said it plans to build a Siberian oil pipeline to the Sea of Japan that will branch off to China's northeast region.
"A strategic decision on building this pipeline, including a branch to China, has been made," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said in the China Daily on Thursday.
"It will carry up to 80 million tonnes of oil a year, of which 30 million tonnes will go to China."
The Russian oil giant Rosneft is due to hold a news conference on Friday, during which further details may be announced.
Russia has already agreed to build two natural gas pipelines to China.
On the electricity agreement, Chinese state press reported last month that the two sides plan to spend 10 billion dollars over the next five years to build power plants along their common border to satisfy China's growing energy demand.
The projected plants will have total capacity of 10 gigawatts, the China Daily reported, citing the State Grid Corp. of China.
Fradkov is due to meet President Hu Jintao and attend a Russo-Chinese investment fair on Friday.
During talks with Chinese State Councillor Wu Yi this week, both sides reiterated their previous goals of 60 billion dollars in bilateral trade by 2010 and realizing 12 billion dollars of Chinese investment in Russia by 2020, Zhukov said in the China Daily.
"Record high growth rates are the most obvious matter in trade and business relations between Russia and China," he said.
"The nations should be proud that bilateral trade soared 37.1 percent to 29.1 billion dollars in 2005."
Wen and Fradkov on Thursday also signed a five-year plan for the development of bilateral trade, a pact pledging peaceful use of nuclear energy, and accords on insurance, banking, and natural gas.
According to the official Xinhua news agency, eight other trade and technical agreements with a contracted value on the Chinese side of 800 million dollars were signed at the trade and investment fair on Thursday.
The agreements included a car assembly factory, mining deals and other production facilities, it said, without providing details.
sai/dma/ph/mtp
AFP 09 1152 GMT 11 06
Copyright© 2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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