President Hu wraps up state visit to Russia
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Xinhua, June 18, 2011
Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up a state visit to Russia and left St. Petersburg on Saturday for Ukraine.
Hu traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, from Moscow Friday morning and delivered a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
In his speech, the Chinese president said that China would like to make joint efforts with other countries to address major world economic challenges.
Hu started his trip to Russia in Moscow on Wednesday, where he met with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the development of the strategic and cooperative partnership between the two nations during the next decade.
Hu's visit to Russia is of great importance as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty on Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.
During his talks with Medvedev on Thursday, Hu said that the growth of China-Russia relations has promoted both nations' development and brought substantial benefits to their citizens. The ties, Hu said, also have helped promote regional and world peace and stability.
He said that the next decade will be a critical period for the two countries for their respective development and for deepening their partnership.
China, he said, will always take China-Russia relations as a foreign policy priority.
The Chinese president said that China is ready to work with Russia to develop a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership featuring equality, mutual trust, mutual support, common prosperity and lasting friendship in the new decade.
Hu called on the two countries to continue to deepen strategic mutual trust and increase political mutual support, saying they should persistently push for multipolarization of the world and democratization of international relations.
As for practical cooperation, Hu said the two countries should work to boost bilateral trade, with the goals of reaching 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 and 200 billion dollars in 2020.
He expected the two countries to actively advance oil and natural gas cooperation, and expand collaboration on nuclear energy, coal, electricity, new energy and new technologies, so as to build a strategic partnership of energy cooperation.
On Thursday, Hu and Medvedev signed a joint statement on the current international situation and on major international issues.
The two leaders also issued a joint statement on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, noting that the two countries have seen all-round rapid development of bilateral relations in the past decade.
Before his Russia trip, Hu visited Kazakhstan and attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana.
Hu will visit Yalta before traveling to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
