( Itar-Tass ) - Russia and China pose themselves a task of improving the pattern of bilateral trade, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said at a meeting with China's President Hu Jintao in Moscow on Tuesday.
"Trade between our countries is actively developing. We are consistently increasing its volume and have already surpassed the figure 30 billion dollars, but we set a more complex task - to improve the structure of mutual trade, increase a proportion of machine products. We just attend to that together with you, and we are grateful to you for it," Fradkov told Hu Jintao.
"You held substantive talks with the Russian president yesterday, and we are ready to continue them today," he said.
Fradkov said that trade, economic contacts, investment and scientific- technological cooperation of the two countries would be discussed.
A Russian-Chinese programme of investment cooperation is being prepared.
"Oilmen, gasmen and electric energy specialists have joined the active phase of discussion," Fradkov said.
He expressed the hope that a Chinese exhibition opening in Moscow on Tuesday would "allow broadening contacts of our business, which is also very important".
Fradkov stated that regional cooperation between China and Russia is expanding.
"The economies of our countries are developing, and we can and should use the available potential of our mutual interests," he said.
Fradkov expressed confidence that the Year of China in Russia, which was officially opened on March 26, "will be accompanied by interesting, picturesque and informative events for the Russians", and Hu Jintao's visit to Moscow would be an important stage in the two countries' strategic partnership.
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