Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday lauded China's fruitful cooperation with Russia in trade and economy, predicting a promising future for bilateral economic ties.

Since the first economic forum attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing in March 2006, bilateral cooperation in trade and economy has reaped rich fruits with the concerted efforts of both governments and friends from various circles, said Wen at the second high-level Sino-Russian economic forum, jointly attended by his Russian counterpart Viktor Zubkov.

Wen said that trade volume between the two countries is growing at an unprecedented pace, from less than US$30 billion in 2005 to an estimated total of US$40 billion this year.

The proportion of electromechanical and high-tech products in bilateral trade has risen to 26 percent from 17 percent two years ago, he said, adding that the two sides have successively launched large cooperative projects in areas such as astronautics, telecommunications and electrical equipment, which provides new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in electromechanical industry.

The two sides have made fresh headway in investment and economic and technical cooperation, said Wen.

During the period of holding reciprocal "national theme years," China and Russia signed an investment protection agreement and staged two large investment promotion conferences, he said. Mutual investments have exceeded US$1.6 billion.

The two sides have begun to formulate medium- and long-term cooperative programs in areas of investment, energy, nuclear energy, science and technology and astronautics.

Noting the existence of vast potential for cooperation in the field of energy and other resources, the Chinese premier said expansions in such cooperation have brought tangible benefits to the enterprises and peoples of the two countries.

Their joint efforts in energies and resources exploration, pipeline construction and energy refining and processing have profited the sustainable development of the two economies and helped safeguard stability in the world market.

He also praised cooperation at the provincial and municipal level, saying that nearly 70 partnerships have been established between provinces and cities of China and Russia and trade at the borders constitutes 20 percent of the two sides' bilateral trading.

The remarkable improvement in the environment for cooperation at the border areas and intensive exchanges in culture, education, science and technology and in tourism have further boosted the friendly neighboring cooperative relations between the two countries, Wen said.

Both China and Russia have witnessed rapid economic development, which has laid a solid foundation for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, he said.

The successful events of "national theme years" have helped the Sino-Russian friendship and their cooperative wills take firm root in the hearts of both peoples, said the Chinese premier, predicting a broader prospect for mutually beneficial cooperation in the future.

(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2007)