国内英语新闻:China, Russia look to "new era" of strategic relations

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday signed a series of political and commercial deals on his second state visit to China, a sign of closer strategic ties between the two world powers.

Medvedev held talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao Monday in Beijing. They celebrated the completion of a long-awaited China-Russia oil pipeline, the largest bilateral project between the two countries.

The 999-km pipeline runs from Angarsk in Russia to Daqing in northeast China. It is part of a bilateral loan-for-oil deal that was reached in 2009. Under it, China makes a 25-billion-U.S.-dollar long-term loan to Russia while Russia supplies China with 300 million tonnes of oil through pipelines from 2011 until 2030.

"The smooth completion of the pipeline project is a model for the two countries' mutually beneficial win-win cooperation and a milestone for China-Russia energy cooperation," said Hu at the completion ceremony.

The two countries also signed 15 deals on cooperation covering coal, gas supply, energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear power, power grids and banking.

Medvedev arrived in northeast China's port city of Dalian Sunday to start his state visit. There, he met with veteran Chinese and Russian soldiers who participated in China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), part of WWII, underscoring the "deep bonds" between the Russian and Chinese peoples.