Vice Premier Wu Yi set forth three proposals to further boost Sino-Russian business cooperation, calling on business people from both nations to seize the opportunity to expand cooperation.

Wu made the remark when she co-hosted a Sino-Russian business seminar with visiting Russian Vice Premier Alexander Zhukov in Beijing Tuesday.

Wu suggested that Chinese and Russian businesses should further increase their understanding of the laws and regulations of the two countries.

Secondly, Wu proposed the two countries should boost the trade of mechanical and electrical products and enhance the quality of trade cooperation.

"Chinese companies should further improve their product quality with a higher standard of technological input and post-sale service and increase investment and production," Wu added.

She also advised Russian business to promote marketing for their products and further integrate into the Chinese market through trade, investment and technological transfers in their advantageous fields.

Thirdly, Wu said that in such spheres as nuclear power, space and information, the two business communities should cement coordination and further open the market to realize win-win cooperation.

Wu cited China and Russia as the biggest neighboring nations to each other, which have scored a rapid growth of the trade in recent years, citing the figure that two-way trade is expected to surpass US$28 billion this year.

"Nevertheless, China-Russia trade is not big enough if compared with the economic power of the two countries and the two business communities should endeavor to seize the chance to boost business cooperation," Wu said.

Zhukov expressed his overall satisfaction with Russia-China trade cooperation, saying Russia hopes to expand exports to China and increase the export of items to allure more Chinese investment into Russia.

The firms of the two nations could increase cooperation in the fields of product processing, energy, and new and high technology innovation, Zhukov said.

He also expressed the hope that banks of both countries could play an active role in offering financial services to the cooperation and that Russian enterprises would make their products more competitive on the Chinese market.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2005)