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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends and colleagues. I am very pleased to welcome all of you in Moscow.

We met fairly recently, but it is very good that we have firm, stable and continuous contacts that fully correspond to the level of our strategic partnership.

I would like to note that trade between Russia and China is going up. It already reached $61.6 billion from January to September of this year. This is tangible growth. I am sure it will reach $66 billion this year and we will develop it further.

I know that you have come to take part in the meeting of the prime ministers of the  Background information Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that is confidently chaired now by China. This will be a summit meeting.

I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to our great friend – President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.

I am confident that your meeting in Sochi scheduled for tomorrow will be a success. No doubt, the governments play a major role in practical aspects of the entire range of our relations. So I wish you a good time in Russia, in Sochi and productive work.

I am very glad to see you.

Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang (retranslated): I am very pleased to take part in the meeting [of the Council of SCO Heads of Government] in Russia and to see you again during this event. Mr President, let me convey to you the warmest regards and best wishes from President Xi Jinping.

As you have just noted, today Chinese-Russian relations of strategic cooperation and partnership are making steady headway.

As for our trade, the trend has been positive since last year. This year it has already increased by over 20 percent. This shows that our cooperation has broad prospects and enormous potential.

I am convinced that our current meeting in Sochi will make a major contribution to the development of the SCO (we are sure this meeting of heads of government will be a success). I also hope that our participation in it will allow us to enhance further our cooperation with Russia.

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