В.Путин.Выступление.22.03.06.Part 2
Speech at the Russian-Chinese Business Communities Economic Forum.Part 2
March 22,2006
Beijing
Выступление на Российско-китайском экономическом форуме
22 марта 2006 года
Пекин
We have made considerable achievements in our relations, but we must also recognise that we also have many serious problems that need addressing.
Foremost among these is the negative change in the structure of our bilateral trade and the raw materials bias of Russian exports to China. I spoke yesterday with my colleague about this matter. Exports of Russian machinery and equipment almost halved in 2005, meanwhile, imports of similar goods from China to Russia saw a noticeable increase.
This trade structure makes us very dependent on price fluctuations on the raw materials markets and creates potential instability for our bilateral trade. In order to protect ourselves from this danger we need to improve the structure of our trade flows and develop cooperation in the technology and manufacturing sectors. Mr Hu Jintao spoke about Chinas large-scale plans to buy goods on foreign markets, and I very much hope that Russian companies will be involved in these plans.
In order to resolve this issue we must draw on the immense cooperation potential that we still have in reserve and that we have not been making sufficient use of. This goes above all for the production of high-technology goods.
To name a few, they include nuclear energy, environmental protection and medicine, space research and the civil aviation industry. It is also very important to develop agri-business cooperation and pursue more rational development of marine bio-resources.
We need to make greater use of the possibilities offered by the special economic zones being established in Russia in the aim of priority development of advanced technology. A law on these zones has already been adopted in Russia and we hope that they will give our Chinese partners additional opportunities for work on our market. I am pleased that Mr Hu Jintao also made this point. A special memorandum has been signed by the relevant government agencies in our countries in order to pursue practical cooperation in this area.
The improvement of transport routes in the Far East and their integration into the transport network of the Asia-Pacific Region is another important issue. Particularly important in this respect is effective use of the potential offered by the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is one of the shortest routes from Asia to Europe. To this aim we have signed, during this visit, an agreement on the mutual use of large-tonnage containers for the transport of export and import goods and on the introduction of electronic exchange of data on international cargoes.
Establishing a well-oiled mechanism for cooperation in the financial sector is a prerequisite for successful cooperation. This mechanism should focus both on supporting joint projects carried out by major Russian and Chinese companies and on those carried out by small and medium-sized companies. I think that the Russian and Chinese banking systems are now in a situation that entirely justifies raising this issue, as can be seen yesterday in the example of the credit agreement signed between Vneshtorgbank and the Export-Import Bank of China.
Trade in services communications and telecommunications services and tourism, of course, are also all areas with great potential.
Duration : 0:6:6