NOVOSIBIRSK, July 3 (RIA Novosti, Yana Ryabinskaya) - Russia and China have unique opportunities for regional cooperation, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Novosibirsk Sunday.
"The Russian-Chinese regional cooperation is facing unique opportunities," Hu said at the meeting with heads of Siberian regions, "Favorable political relations create conditions for promoting this cooperation."
He said that Russia and China had finally resolved border problems and the level of political trust and strategic partnership was growing. The Russian and Chinese leaders support the regional cooperation development, the president added.
"The two countries see dynamic economic development and market enlargement. China is implementing a program to develop western regions and northeastern industrial areas while Russia is realizing the development strategy of the Far East and Siberia," Hu said. "It offers new opportunities and boost the regional cooperation development."
The Siberian Federal District has set an example of inter-regional cooperation development, he added.
The Chinese leader said he agreed with the initiative to raise the Chinese-Siberian annual trade to $10-12 billion while the Russian-Chinese trade as a whole should be $60-80 billion.
"I fully support this idea," he said.
Russian President's special envoy in the Siberian Federal District Anatoly Kvashnin and Secretary General of the Heilongjiang Communist Party Committee Song Fatang signed an agreement to promote trade and science cooperation between the federal district and Heilongjiang province after Hu Jintao's meeting with heads of Siberian regions.
