Transcript of Alexander Zhukov's speech:

Ladies and gentlemen,

I'm pleased to participate in the fifth Russian-Chinese economic forum. The previous meeting in such a large format took place in Beijing in October 2009. The past year has seen many changes in the world in general and in trade and economic cooperation between Russia and China in particular.

The world economy is overcoming, albeit slowly and awkwardly, the consequences of a global financial crisis unprecedented since the Great Depression. The commodity market and the stock exchange remain highly volatile, the global currency system is running high and there is an obvious growth of protectionist measures in international trade. Nevertheless, a change for the better is gradually taking place.

A particular feature of the global economic recovery is the increasingly large role of countries with developing economies, which are acting as driving forces for economic growth. This applies to BRIC countries, including Russia and China. I believe this is not an accidental phenomenon but a regular reflection of objective trends in global development and the formation of a new, post-crisis international economic, financial and trade structure.

In these conditions, Russian-Chinese cooperation takes on global significance. Our countries have identical or very similar approaches to such complicated issues as overcoming the global economy's structural imbalances that were the main causes of the current financial downturn, reforming the global financial system, including the reorganisation of international financial institutions, and the promotion of global trade and investment. Russia and China want other countries to consider their opinions and acknowledge their real weight in the global economy when resolving urgent international problems. The 14th meeting of the Russian-Chinese commission for the preparation of regular meetings between heads of government discussed this issue, and our prime ministers devoted a lot of attention to it at their bilateral meetings. We have agreed to further coordinate our positions on a broad range of issues and promote dialogue in the G20, APEC, BRIC, SCO and other formats.

At the same time, we are promoting and will promote mutually advantageous bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Speaking at the previous forum, I noted the importance of a new model for our bilateral economic cooperation. I think that this goal is becoming increasingly urgent.

During the past year our countries have managed to restore the pre-crisis level of trade and economic ties. In the first nine months of this year our trade exceeded the figure for the entire past year.

We have achieved substantial progress in many other areas of bilateral cooperation. The commissioning of the Russia-China oil pipeline has become a landmark not only in our energy cooperation but also in our trade and economic relations in general. The scale and importance of this project fully corresponds to the level of strategic partnerships and cooperation between Russia and China.

We have made good progress in developing the peaceful nuclear energy programmes. We have continued cooperating on the second stage of the Tianwan nuclear power plant and the fourth stage of the gas centrifuge plant, which are long-term mutually beneficial projects that ensure steady progress in bilateral cooperation in the foreseeable future.

Our investment cooperation is also expanding. We are interested in a radical increase in investments from China. Considering the economic potentials of our countries, mutual investment is still rather modest.

During the past year we have advanced our cooperation in building plants in the deep processing of wood. We have adopted a joint programme on developing timber resources in the Jewish Autonomous Region. Continued cooperation in developing and implementing investment projects in this sphere will facilitate the formation of a major integrated system in the timber processing industry. We think that it is important to expand our cooperation in this industry by actively involving such areas rich in forest resources as the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

We are developing cooperation in building infrastructure facilities and the construction industry, including highways, airports and sports facilities.

Today, before the forum, Wang Qishan (deputy premier of the Chinese State Council) and I attended the signing of 13 contracts worth a total of about $8 billion. I consider it particularly important that many of these agreements will facilitate the modernisation of our countries. This applies, for instance, to the agreement to build joint ventures in Russia on the manufacture and sale of aluminium alloys and the transfer of technology for isoprene rubber production.

The creation of modern venues, such as business centres for developing trade exchange, may become a major area of our investment cooperation and will provide for civilised contacts between the business communities of the two countries. In this context, I'd like to mention the construction of the Chinese Huaming Business Centre in Moscow and the Greenwood International Exhibition Centre that our Chinese partners are now building in the Moscow Region. These are important and exciting projects.

During the 15th regular Russian-Chinese summit, Russia and China agreed that they must support investment efforts made by their enterprises and companies, improve the investment climate and provide more opportunities for developing the investment potential of the two countries.

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum, annually held in mid-June under the patronage of the Russian president, has the same goals, and I would like to invite the Russian and Chinese participants of today's meeting to this forum.

Last year was marked by the improvement of interregional and cross-border ties. The main thing is that we began implementing the programme for cooperation between the Russian Far East and East Siberia and North-Western China. Much remains to be done, in particular developing tools for the bilateral cooperation of government agencies, regional governments and the business communities of the two countries. The creation of such an effective mechanism is, in my opinion, the guarantee of successful implementation of the projects set out in the programme.

We are improving our cooperation in the transport sector. In particular, we are building the Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang bridge, improving container shipping and building high-speed rail lines.

We have also improved financial cooperation. An additional protocol to the Russia-China government Agreement on Trade and Economic Relations was signed in the presence of the prime ministers. This protocol stipulates the use of the national currencies in trade between the two countries. Thus, a legal basis for using roubles and yuan not only in trade on bordering areas, as was the case until now, but in major trade between these countries as well. The next step must be to create a mechanism for calculating the use of these national currencies in trade, including trading them in exchange markets. This is a great task for the central banks of the two countries, Russian and Chinese commercial banks and direct participants of foreign economic activity. Trading in national currencies aims to make trade and investment ties more stable and attract more enterprises and companies of the two countries.

The prospects, dynamics, and content of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and China for the coming years will depend on economic modernisation and a shift to a new innovation model of socio-economic development that is being applied in our countries. Introducing innovations and strengthening cooperation in high-tech areas require closer cooperation in space exploration, the aircraft industry, information technology and communications. Russian and Chinese special economic zones have the potential to play a great role in this process, primarily those in which new technology is introduced. Exchanges and contacts between the special economic zones of the two countries became much stronger this year. However, our partnerships should lead to tangible results in joint projects in the high-technology sector.

Finally, I would like to voice one more idea. In 2010, Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations recovered from the global financial crisis and were restored to the pre-crisis level, and I hope that next year, 2011, will become a fresh start for a mutually beneficial cooperation after the post-crisis phase the aims for which will be defined by business representatives at the fifth Russian-Chinese economic forum.

I hope your work is productive and successful!