CRI听力:China, Russia to Increase Bilateral Investment, Financial Cooperation

Visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli has had a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of this year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

As part of the meeting, Vladimir Putin has taken time to laud the Chinese government for tightening its ties with Russia.

"Our relations (in general) and in the economic sphere are on the rise. To a large extent it is due to the efforts of the Russian Federation and the Chinese State Council, so we are grateful to you for this."

The annual meetings in St. Petersburg are designed to attract foreign investment into Russia.
Ping Yu, vice-chair of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, says there is still a lot of potential in Russia, despite its current economic problems.

"I think there's a lot of potential in the investment field between the two countries. Lots of Chinese companies would like to invest in Russia, in the Far Eastern part of Russia, and in the European part of Russia."

Chinese investment in Russia hit 33-billion US dollars last year.

Chinese and Russian companies are set to sign deals at the meetings in St. Petersburg covering the pre-construction surveys and designs for the Moscow-Kazan high-speed rail link.

The 770-kilometer section of rail line is part of the broader Beijing-Moscow high-speed transport cooridor being developed.

Discussions are also taking place in St. Petersburg connected to natural gas pipelines, airplane manufacturing and China's involvement in Russia's development strategy for its Far East Region.