Chinese parliament head addresses Sino-Russian forum on cooperation
The head of the Chinese parliament, Wu Bangguo, has called for stronger economic and trade between China and Russia
in his speech to a forum on bilateral cooperation in Moscow. Wu said China and Russia should develop trade in areas such
as machinery and electronics. Wu suggested that both countries invest more in joint infrastructure projects, such as
developing energy and other natural resources, building communications facilities, high technology, and information
technology. Wu also said that Chinese companies should be more involved in the development of Russia's Far East and
Siberia, while Russian firms should help revive the old industrial bases in northeast China and develop western China.
The following is the text of Wu's speech given at the 25 May Sino-Russian Forum on Border and Regional Cooperation,
carried by Chinese official news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)
Moscow, 25 May: Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress [NPC] Standing Committee, who is
currently paying an official and friendly visit here, today addressed the Sino-Russian Forum on Border and Regional
Cooperation. The text of his important speech, "Strengthening Mutually Beneficial Cooperation and Promoting Common
Development", follows:
Respected Speaker [Chairman of the Federal Council Sergey] Mironov,
Ladies, gentlemen, and friends:
Today I am very glad that, while paying my official visit in Russia, I have this opportunity to attend this
Sino-Russian Forum on Border and Regional Cooperation and meet my new and old friends here. First of all, I wish to
express my warm congratulations to the forum, my sincere regards and best wishes to those from different circles who are
here at this meeting, and also my wholehearted thanks to those departments of the two countries for the efforts they
have made for this meeting. Here, I would also like to thank Speaker Mironov. It is him who, during his visit to China
last year, talked to me to hold this forum together to promote Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation and to build
a new stage and bridge for promoting our good-neighbourliness and friendship.
The Russian people are now building their beautiful country with their wisdom and sweat; and they are making
important contributions to mankind's civilizations with their resplendent literature and arts, their cornucopian
philosophic thoughts, and their exceptional scientific-technological achievements. As Russia's friendly neighbour
and partner of strategic cooperation, we are pleased from the bottom of our hearts for the remarkable successes that
Russia has achieved in the new period. We wholeheartedly wish the Russian people, under the leadership of President
Putin, will attain their grand objective of building a strong and affluent country.
Ladies, gentlemen, and friends:
It has been 25 years since China embarked on reforms and opening up to the outside world. China's outlook has
changed profoundly in these 25 years. We have built a preliminary socialist market economic system, our social
productivity and combined national strength have substantially grown, and, as a whole, the people's living
standards have made a historic leap to being well off from only having the basic food and clothing problems resolved. In
these 25 years, China's annual economic growth has been 9.4 per cent. The country's gross domestic product
[GDP] grew from 147.3bn dollars in 1978 to 1.4 trillion dollars in 2003. The total imports and exports grew from 20.6bn
dollars in 1978 to 851.2bn dollars last year. The country's foreign exchange reserves grew from 167m dollars in
1978 to 403.3bn dollars last year. The total foreign capital China has used has reached 680bn dollars. This shows that
China's reform and opening-up policy has brought real benefits to the Chinese people. China's poverty-stricken
population has decreased from 250 million to less than 30 million. After allowing for price rises, the average income of
urbanites and rural residents has grown more than four-fold. The people's average life span has increased from 35
before the founding of New China to the present 71.8.
Meanwhile, we are also soberly aware of China's large population, its weak foundation and its very uneven
development. While China's per capita GDP has exceeded 1,000 dollars, it still ranks below that of 100 countries in
the world. Thus, to achieve modernization, China still has to work hard for a long time to come. To this end, we have
set the goal for the first 20 years of this century: we will build an all-round well-off society of a higher level that
will benefit 1.3 billion people, and we will strive to quadruple the 2000 GDP by the year 2020, pushing that to 4
trillion dollars, or 3,000 dollars per capita. By that time, China will have a more developed economy, a better
democratic system, a more advanced scientific and educational development, a more thriving cultural development, and a
more harmonious society; and the people will enjoy a more affluent life.
China's development cannot be independent from the world and the world also needs China for its prosperity.
China's development will not only be beneficial to the Chinese people, it will also contribute significantly to
world peace and development. China's development will create important opportunities to all countries in the world,
especially China's neighbours. China's stable and harmonious political and social environments, its ample and
fine labour resources and its potentially enormous markets are ideal for it to conduct mutually beneficial economic and
trade cooperation with all countries in the world, especially its neighbours. China always upholds an independent
foreign policy of peace. China also needs a peaceful and stable neighbouring and international environment for its
growth. We sincerely develop friendly contacts and cooperation in all fields with all countries in the world. We stand
for building a just and rational international political and economic new order. We hold that, politically, countries in
the world should respect each other and talk to each other; economically we should help one another to move forward so
that we can develop together; culturally we should emulate each other so that we can thrive together; and in terms of
security, we should trust each other so that we can enjoy peace together. We are against hegemonism and power politics.
We are against all forms of terrorism. We have time and again pledged to the world that China is not threatening any
other country, and that, even when it is strong and prosperous in the future, it will never seek hegemony and never
expand but will always act as the bulwark that safeguards world peace and promotes common development.
Ladies, gentlemen, and friends:
China and Russia are two countries linked by mountains and rivers. We can trace our traditional friendship to ancient
times. In the past decade or so, our two countries, carrying forward our friendly tradition, examining our historical
experiences and acting in conformity with the new situation, have written a new chapter of our good-neighbourliness and
friendship. In particular, the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation", which
President Jiang Zemin and President Putin signed in 2001, has codified the thought of peace that the two countries and
two peoples must be friends for generations to come and must never be each other's enemy. The treaty, which has
laid down the basic principles for Sino-Russian relations and has clearly set the course for long-term cooperation,
provides the two countries with a powerful legal means that makes sure that China and Russia will forever be good
neighbours, good partners and good friends. The treaty has pushed the Sino-Russian strategic partnership to a new stage
where it will become even stronger and more mature.
As result of the efforts China and Russia have made in the last decade or so, our two countries have built the legal
base, such as the treaty for of cooperative development, and the mechanism for close consultations. Since 1992, our two
countries have signed more than 180 interstate and intergovernmental documents, created eight branch government
committees and 25 permanent groups in economic and scientific-technological areas, and five branch committees in social
and humanity spheres. Chinese and Russian leaders have also built between them a robust relationship of trust and
cooperation.
China and Russia have successfully addressed the historically unresolved border issue. On regional and international
issues, the two countries have identical or similar stands and maintain close consultations and cooperation, thus
effectively safeguarding the two countries' fundamental interests and upgrading the two countries'
international status. Of course, the development of Sino-Russian relations still has some problems. While we must
confront the frictions and differences in our relationship, we must, more importantly, treat each other with sincerity
so that we can remove our differences through talks. We have created between us the relationship of mutual trust and the
mechanism for mutual cooperation, thus we can discuss any problem sincerely and openly. Even for those extremely
sensitive issues, we still can find solutions to them through enhancing trust and dispelling suspicion.
China's new central leading collective attaches great importance to developing relations with Russia. In May
2003, Chinese President Hu Jintao successfully paid a state visit to Russia. The two countries' leaders agreed
that, no matter how the international situation might change, deepening Sino-Russian good-neighbourliness and friendship
and the two countries' mutually beneficially cooperation and strategic cooperative partnership should continue to
be the strategic priority of the two countries' foreign policies. China is ready to work with Russia in carrying
forward the task of fully implementing the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly
Cooperation", enhancing mutual trust; broaden common understanding; promoting the two countries' comprehensive
strategic cooperation in the political, economic, scientific-technological and cultural fields and in world affairs; and
work hard to create a new situation for the development of Sino-Russian relations.
Economic and trade cooperation is the material foundation of Sino-Russian good-neighbourliness and friendly
relationship. It should be an essential aspect of Sino-Russian strategic partnership and an important aspect that
ensures ample and sustained vitality in the two countries' relations. Thanks to the efforts the two countries have
exerted in recent years, China and Russia have made substantial headway in their economic and trade cooperation.
Bilateral trade volumes have grown substantially for four years in a row, reaching 15.76bn dollars in 2003. Compared
with the same period last year, the growth of bilateral trade of the first quarter of the year grew 35.6 per cent, and
so we anticipate we can reach the 20bn dollars goal that our two leaders set. To be frank, however, the current state of
Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation is not in line with the requirements set for the development of the two
countries' strategic cooperative partnership and does not match the two countries' economic strength and level
of development. The two countries are far from giving play to their potentials for economic and trade cooperation.
Our two countries have particularly favourable conditions for strengthening and expanding our economic and trade
cooperation. We enjoy political stability, social harmony, and high economic growth; we need each other in the fields of
technology, investment, natural resources, and commodity; and we, as two biggest neighbours, have the advantage of being
geographically contiguous to each other and also the tradition of having friendly contacts with each other. More
importantly, we both are eager to strengthen our mutually beneficial cooperation and to upgrade our cooperation. This
has been fully demonstrated by the fact that among those who are here at this forum today are officials of the two
countries' legislatures and central governments, and representatives of local governments and large enterprises,
chambers of commerce and associations. I hold that the two sides should seize the opportunities and, demonstrating our
active and pragmatic spirit, broaden the spheres of cooperation, explore other forms of cooperation, reinforce the
various respects of our cooperation and upgrade the level of cooperation so that the two countries' economic and
trade cooperation will develop by leaps and bounds.
To this end, I have the following proposals:
First, we should improve the mix of commodities so as to consolidate and expand our commodity trade. Commodity trade,
the traditional aspect of Sino-Russian economic and trade relationship, has been enjoying relatively fast growth in
recent years. The commodity mix, however, must be improved. The excessively large proportions of labour-intensive
products, products with low added value, and primary products are not commensurate with our two countries' economic
development and the level of our industrial and scientific-technological development. Thus, the two sides should
continue to optimize and improve the mix of trade commodities, trade with each other with more technologically advanced
products and products with higher added value, increase the proportion of high-tech products and mechanical and
electronic products, and trade with each other commodities of better overall quality and higher grade.
Second, we should broaden our investment cooperation in more fields. Currently the two-way investment between China
and Russia are very small. The total two-way investment between us at the end of 2003 was respectively 550m dollars and
340m dollars. The role this investment play in promoting trade is inconspicuous. Besides, the money is invested in only
a few areas and no money has been invested in large, pillar projects. The fast economic growth that China and Russia
enjoy has now created unusual and new opportunities for the two countries to start investment cooperation. We should
observe the situation from a strategic perspective, take our respective situations and strengths into account, and begin
direct, two-way investments, which should include cooperation in building infrastructure projects of developing energy
and other natural resources, in building communications facilities, in transforming high technology, and in developing
electronic information technology. We should strive to create new ways of cooperative production and joint research and
development so that the two countries' economic and trade cooperation will have a qualitative leap.
Third, we should promote regional cooperation and encourage enterprises to participate. Currently the two
countries' border trade is developing satisfactorily, reaching 3.52bn dollars last year. This figure, which
accounts for 22.3 per cent of the total bilateral trade volume, played a noticeable role in promoting bilateral trade.
Meanwhile, the economic and trade contacts and ties between regions of the two countries are also becoming increasingly
closer. Sixty-three provinces, oblasts and cities of the two countries have already established friendly ties; and nine
on each side have established close economic and trade cooperation relations. The two sides should continue to create
the necessary conditions for mobilizing the enthusiasm of the two countries' regions and enterprises to strengthen
their cooperation, guide and encourage the strong and competitive enterprises to participate and invest, support the
development of mutually beneficial economic and technical cooperation projects, encourage Chinese side to participate in
the development of Russia's Far East and Siberia, welcome the Russian side to participate in rejuvenating the old
industrial bases in northeast China and in developing western China so that Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation
can be even more dynamic and vital.
Fourth, we should improve the environment of cooperation and promote common development. Reciprocity and making both
sides the winners are the foundation of developing economic and trade cooperation between countries, and also the
conditions for achieving coordinated and sustainable economic and trade cooperation. This is particularly important as
the two sides' economic and trade cooperation is expanding in size and in scope. Both China and Russia have
accomplished a great deal of work with respect to improving the environment of cooperation. The two sides should
continue to work hard and, acting in accordance with the principles of sincerity, trustworthiness, reciprocity, and
making both sides the winners, respect each other's interests, create a fair and lawful environment, and provide
powerful support and market access for each other's commodities, investments and services. Meanwhile, we should
also improve the mechanism for bilateral coordination, keep the channels for consultations unimpeded, and promptly
resolve those problems arising from economic and trade contacts to ensure the healthy development of the two
countries' economic and trade cooperation. The governments of the two countries should, through the mechanism
governing their premiers' meetings at regular intervals, strengthen the consultations and coordination on the
important issues concerning bilateral economic and trade cooperation. China's NPC wants to work with Russia's
Federal Council so that we can contribute more to developing Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation.
Ladies, gentlemen, and friends!
Sino-Russian strategic cooperative partnership is now facing new and important opportunities of development. Let us
make this forum a new starting point and, under the guidance of the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness
and Friendly Cooperation", work hard together to create a new situation for Sino-Russian economic and trade
cooperation.
Finally, I wish the Forum of Sino-Russian Border and Regional Cooperation complete success!
Thank you!
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