Volume Of Trade Between Russia And China To Reach $10Bn This Year

The volume of trade between Russia and China will reach $10 billion this year, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in an interview with a Chinese newspaper. A representative of the Department of the Press and Information of the Foreign Ministry of Russia told RBC that the foreign minister pointed out that trade and economic contacts between the two countries had been growing. According to him, the results of the sixth meeting of the Prime Ministers of Russia and China in St. Petersburg in September confirm this conclusion. Documents on an oil pipeline from Russia to China and purchase of a number of Russian civil aircraft by China were signed during the meeting. Broad plans for development of cooperation in the energy industry as well as in the hi-tech sector were prepared. As for the bilateral trade, Ivanov remarked on its dynamic growth: the volume of trade between the two countries rose by 40% and reached a record high level of $8 billion in 2000.