BEIJING, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russian-Chinese relations are of international importance, and said he was satisfied with his visit to China.
"Such attention, from the public in our two countries and the international community, is not accidental, because Russian-Chinese relations are an important factor in global affairs," Putin said during a meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
The meeting was part of Putin's three-day visit to Beijing, which included talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.
"I consider my visit to China quite successful," the Russian prime minister said during the meeting, which came at the end of his stay in Beijing.
The Russian prime minister told Wu, the Chinese parliament speaker, that Russia considers the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries a matter of high importance.
Wu said Putin was well-known in China, adding that he was sure that Putin's visit to Beijing would stimulate further development of Russian-Chinese bilateral relations.
"You are very popular not only in your own country, but also in China. You are a very authoritative person in our country," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Putin attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government, and reiterated a proposal that SCO member states set up an energy forum.
A host of deals were agreed on Tuesday, when Putin met with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, including a framework agreement on natural gas supplies from West Siberia, the Russian Far East, and offshore Sakhalin fields to China.
Under the agreement, signed by Russian energy giant Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation in the presence of the two prime ministers, 70 billion cubic meters of gas could be supplied to China annually.
