BEIJING, November 9. /TASS/. Russia and China should follow the chosen cooperation line despite of the changes on the international arena, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping said during their negotiations on Sunday.
“Whatever changes might happen in the international situation, we should follow the chosen line, should expand and develop the overwhelming mutually advantageous cooperation,” the Chinese leader said.
Putin also spoke about the importance of cooperation on the international arena. “Extremely important is cooperation between Russia and China in order to keep the world in the framework of the international law, making it more stable,” Putin said.
The two leaders agreed that bilateral cooperation was developing in a positive way. “Together, we have been carefully attending to the ever-green tree of the Russian-Chinese friendship. Now it is autumn, the time to harvest the fruits,” the Chinese president said, adding that the current format of cooperation between the two countries was in the interests of the peoples of Russia and China.”
Putin agreed that the development of bilateral cooperation had a positive influence on the lives of people both in Russian and in China. He drew attention to growing trade between the two countries /over the nine months of 2014, trade went up by seven percent/. “It is a good resukt. It proves that our efforts were not in vain,” he stressed.
Putin and Xi also discussed possible settlements in yuans in various spheres. “The two presidents paid special attention to the topic of mutual settlements in various spheres, including the spheres like foreign trade, in yuans, which will strengthen yuan as a reserve regional currency,” the Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov saidsaid.
He said Putin had presented to the Chinese leader a Russia-made smartphone YotaPhone-2. The smartphone keeps downloaded symbols of Russia, China and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), he added.
The talks were crowned by the signing of 17 Russian-Chinese documents, including those on cooperation in the gas sector.
Thus, in the presence of two presidents, the sides signed a memorandum on cooperation in supplies of natural gas from Russia to China along the western route, a framework agreement between Russia’s Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on supplies of natural gas from Russia to China, a memorandum of understanding between Gazprom and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC Group).
The Western Route provides for gas supplies to China from the fields in West Siberia. Direct supplies are due in 2019.
Now, gas supplies from Russia to China in a mid-term perspective may be bigger than supplies to Europe, Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller said, commenting on the bilateral documents signed between Russia and China.
Miller said the countries are signing a Memorandum on supplies of natural gas from Russia to China along the western route, and a frame agreement between Gazprom and CNPC on gas supplies along the western route.
“These documents first of all fix that the western route is a priority project of our gas cooperation,” he said. The documents outline terms and conditions of gas supplies to China: 30 bcm. The contract’s term is 30 years. Besides, the countries have discussed further steps, like signing of a buy-sell agreement and of an intergovernmental agreement.
“Supplies will go from fields in West Siberia - the resource base we are using for supplies to Europe,” Miller said.
“In a mid-term perspective, we have another route, which is being negotiated with China now - gas supplies by a pipeline from regions of the Far East,” he said.
“As we shall be increasing the supplies along the western route, in mid-term the supplies to China may be bigger than the export to Europe,” Gazprom’s head said.
Plans of RusHydro and China Three Gorges Corporation
Russia’s RusHydro and China Three Gorges Corporation will have a joint venture for organisation, financing, construction and exploitation of flood-resistant hydro power plants along Russia’s Amur River.
The plans were reflected in an agreement signed by Evgeny Dod and Lu Chun.
The cost of the projects under the agreement is estimated at 230 billion roubles ($4.8 billion).
The joint venture’s 51% will belong to Russia, and 49% - to china. At least 70% of necessary funds will be attracted from mostly Chinese and Russian financial institutions via the mechanism of project financing, long-term contracts on electricity supplies. China Three Gorges Corporation undertakes negotiating long-term agreements on supplies of electricity from the power plants to be constructed.
Under the agreement, RusHydro said, the parties will analyse and construct four power plants: Nizhne-Zeyskaya (400 megawatts), Selemzhinskaya (100 megawatts), Gilyuiskaya (462 megawatts) and Nizhne-Nimanskaya (600 megawatts).
“The Chinese counterparts will be involved actively at all stages of the project’s implementation: design, equipment supplies and construction. The project will mean protection from disastrous floods on both sides of the Amur River - both in the Russian and in the Chinese territories; it is a major input in development of modern energy infrastructures, which will favour the economic growth of the region and will offer new jobs,” the Russian representative said. The signed agreement “is not only a protocol of intentions, but a practical document, which describes detailed implementation of large-scale projects in the Russian Far East.”
Lu Chun expressed hope the Russian-Chinese agreement would develop further the strategic cooperation and will be to the benefit of people living in Russia’s Far East and along China’s Heilongjiang.
RusHydro is a major Russian energy holding company, which unites over 70 facilities of renewable energy in Russia and abroad. The capacity of the holding’s power plants is 38.2 gigawatts.