Trade and martial arts dominate second day of Putin's China visit
22/3/2006 17:45
Russian President Vladimir Putin turned his attention to trade and martial
arts today before concluding his two-day visit to China.
In the morning,
Putin and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao attended the opening ceremony of a
high-level Sino-Russian economic forum, which was seen as an opportunity for the
two countries to discuss detailed trade issues.
In a speech at the forum,
Putin highlighted the energy cooperation between Russia and China, saying that
Russia has become China's fifth largest energy supplier.
China and Russia on
Tuesday signed three deals on oil and natural gas cooperation, including a
summary of negotiations between the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and
Transneft, a pipeline transport company of Russia.
"Transneft and the CNPC
are conducting a feasibility study on the construction of a branch oil pipeline
to China. If the project could be implemented, which I have no doubt it can, it
will help improve (Russia's) oil supply to China," Putin said.
Putin also
encouraged enterprises of the two countries to expand cooperation in the fields
of machinery, transportation, finance, education and service sectors.
The
trade volume between China and Russia has been increasing rapidly in recent
years. In 2005, the trade volume exceeded US$29 billion.
"In 2004, President
Putin and I jointly set a target of improving bilateral trade volume from 60
billion to US$80 billion in 2010. Based on the current situation, I believe the
target can be reached with joint efforts," Hu said in his speech.
Hu
suggested the two countries improve trade patterns and make efforts to expand
the proportion of machinery in trade cooperation.
Meanwhile, Hu also urged
the two countries to boost two-way investment, energy and hi-tech cooperation
and take measures to improve the trade and investment environment.
Before
leaving China, Putin headed to the Shaolin Temple for a taste of Buddhism and
martial arts.
Established about 1,500 years ago in central China's Henan
Province, Shaolin is famed for the great combination of martial arts skill and
Zen, a sect of Buddhism, that features long meditation sessions to purify the
mind.
The Chinese press had already begun speculating as to whether Putin, a
black belt expert in judo, would challenge the Shaolin monks after watching
their demonstration of Shaolin Kung Fu.
An official with the Russian Embassy
in China said Russian diplomats had left for Shaolin for preparations, but they
were not sure whether the president would want a competition.
In 2000, Putin
fought a Japanese judoka when visiting a judo club during his trip. His act
flung his unprepared bodyguards into disarray.
This is Putin's fourth trip to
China as Russian President. On Tuesday, Putin and Hu signed a joint statement,
pledging to tighten ties by furthering cooperation in politics, energy and
regional affairs.
They also witnessed the signing ceremony of 14 cooperative
documents, covering cooperation on oil and natural gas, finance and
transportation.
Xinhua
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