MOSCOW, 28 March 2007 — China and Russia forged new ties at a presidential summit that brought $4 billion worth of trade deals yesterday, increasing the interdependence of the two fast-growing economies.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the deals on the second day of a visit by the Chinese leader meant to secure additional energy shipments and push trade to new highs.
“For Russia, China has always been one of the most important economic partners in the world, and throughout recent years our business ties have steadily grown and strengthened,” Putin said, speaking at the opening of China’s biggest-ever trade fair in a foreign country.
The presidents oversaw the signing of 21 contracts, including an agreement by Russian state oil company Rosneft to supply jet fuel to China and long-term export contracts for Russian steel products.
Among the biggest contracts was a $460-million (345-million-euro) agreement by Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel to supply 94,000 tons of steel to Chinese electrical parts maker Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock from 2007-2011.
Nearly 200 Chinese companies showcased products at the trade fair, which Putin used to underline Russia’s interest in developing its own high-tech sector with Chinese help.
“We are particularly interested in exhibitions devoted to innovative and information products, aviation, aeronautics and energy, the nuclear industry,” Putin said. Russia wants to learn from China’s example as one of the world’s fastest-expanding economies, former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said.
“We are studying China’s experience closely,” he told reporters at the fair. China and India “are growing twice as fast as the United States. The question is: To whom does the future of the world belong?”
China’s chief interest in Russia, meanwhile, is securing more oil and gas to fill its huge energy needs.
The Chinese president took a step in that direction Monday by securing an agreement for increased deliveries of Russian oil by rail.
Those deliveries should jump from the 11 million tons shipped in 2006 to 15 million tons per year, Russian Railways head Vladimir Yakunin told reporters.
China received a total of 15 million tons of Russian oil last year, and analysts say it is eager to secure guarantees for more.
Hu continues his energy quest yesterday evening with a visit to Tatarstan, a province in central Russia that has extensive oil reserves. The Chinese president will meet there today with the region’s leader Mintimir Shaimiyev. Other agreements were signed between Russian and Chinese banks and space agencies.
Meeting Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on Monday morning, Hu said: “Both sides should use this chance to strengthen trust in each other in all ways, to deepen practical cooperation.”
Both sides said bilateral trade jumped over the past year, though their statistics differed: China said trade grew 15 percent in 2006, while Russia said trade grew 43 percent over the same period.
