High-tech cooperation further boosts China-Russia relationship

Scientific and technological cooperation is becoming another stimulus to China-Russia relationship, Russia's Deputy Minister of Economic Development Oleg Formichev has said.

"In my opinion, high-tech transfers would be another new form of investment cooperation between the two countries," Formichev told Xinhua in an exclusive interview before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Moscow, the first one since he took office in March last year.

Russian and Chinese organizations are currently cooperating on six scientific projects, as well as nearly 30 ones on basic research and applied research, under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Formichev said.

Joint projects cover areas of new materials, environmental and energy-saving technology, biotechnology, high-energy physics, chemical engineering and petrochemistry, the deputy minister said, adding that substantial support was given by both countries' governments.

Meanwhile, the first meeting of the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee was held in Beijing in early September. More than 30 investment project deals were concluded on high-speed railways, iron and copper mining, as well as the construction of a rubber plant and a joint-venture airliner lease company.

Those projects would also stimulate the investment cooperation between the two countries, Formichev said, adding that economic and trade contacts have become the priority of the bilateral cooperation.

China has been the No. 1 trading partner of Russia over the past four years. Plans are afoot to raise the two-way trade volume to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 and 200 billion dollars by 2020. Achieving the goals is highly secured by the current momentum of bilateral business boom, said Formichev.

The two countries signed the China and Russia Purchase and Sales Contract on East Route Gas Project and a memorandum in May. The 30-year contract will see the east route pipeline start to provide China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018.

"The construction of China-Russia natural gas pipelines would be the same success just as the Skovorodino-Mohe crude oil pipeline, which started operation in 2011," Formichev said.

Cooperation in nuclear power is also thriving. According to Formichev, the construction of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in eastern China would be finished by 2017. Moreover, the oil refinery with a 13-million-ton annual output would be put into operation in China's northern city of Tianjin.

Besides successful energy cooperation, there is a fresh impetus in such cooperation areas as infrastructure construction, civil aviation, ship building, automobile manufacture, transportation, finance, high-tech, agriculture and aerospace, Formichev said.

Russia is interested in Chinese experiences in the construction of special economic zones, industrial zones and innovative business clusters, he said.

Chinese Premier Li will attend an innovation forum during his visit to Moscow.

Formichev stressed that, under current complicated international geopolitical situations, China's attendance at the forum highlights a bright outlook for the all-around high-level bilateral relationship between the two countries.