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Hu Jintao: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

It is very pleasing for me to have the opportunity to meet with President Putin, and with representatives of the press.

President Putin and I have just held very good talks, which led to a deepening and further development of strategic relations between our two countries. And we also reached a common opinion on important international and regional issues.

Both parties made a review of the path travelled in our relations over the last 55 years. The two parties agree that continuing good-neighbourly relations between the two countries is our common policy.

Deepening strategic interaction is the strategic choice of our two countries. Handing down friendship from generation to generation is our goal. Both parties agree that they will keep to the spirit and principles laid out in the Chinese-Russian Treaty on good-neighbourliness, friendship and cooperation, make joint efforts and intensify all-round cooperation in political, strategic, trade and economic and humanitarian spheres, and in the security sphere. The parties will make joint efforts to bring Chinese-Russian strategic cooperation to an even higher level, so that our two countries always remain good neighbours, partners and good friends.

We have just signed the Chinese-Russian Joint declaration, confirmed our plan of action in consolidating the Russian-Chinese Treaty on good-neighbourliness, friendship and cooperation, and signed all the agreements on the eastern part of the state border, and a series of other important documents.

The signing of the additional agreement between Russia and China on the eastern part of the state border means a final regulation of border issues between the two countries. From this moment on, the Chinese-Russian border, over an extent of 3,400 km, will be a bond of friendship and cooperation between our people. In my opinion, Vladimir Putin’s visit to China is quite successful. We have reached an important common opinion, and the success and results achieved will serve as an active stimulus to strategic interaction between Russia and China. President Putin has kindly invited me to a ceremony dedicated to the 60th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, and to make an official visit to Russia. I accepted his invitation with great pleasure.

President Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to stress the main result of the Russian-Chinese meeting today. This meeting can truly be called a summit of breakthrough decisions.

The intensive and trusting nature of our relations is clear. This fully reflects the strategic modern nature of our relations.

The Chairman of the People’s Republic of China and I discussed the full range of bilateral issues. We discussed key issues of interaction on the international scene and in regional politics.

The results of talks are reflected in the Joint declaration. This not only gives an assessment of the state of Russian-Chinese relations, but it also shows prospects for their development.

An important political step has been made: the border issue between our countries has been resolved. We spent 40 years solving this issue. Russia and China showed wisdom and reached a balanced decision that answers to our mutual interests. For the first time in the history of Russian-Chinese relations, the border will be legally registered and marked out in the regions.

I would note that the decision on the border opens wide opportunities for closer cooperation in developing shipping, nature management, protection of the environment and farming. And this will have a beneficial effect on the development of international ties and on the lives of people living in the border regions of these two nations.

During the preparation and work on the summit, we also, without exaggeration, achieved another strategic result in Russia’s entry into the WTO. Our countries will gain new opportunities to increase the scale of bilateral cooperation.

I would note that in the latest period we have been able to seriously increase the volume of mutual trade turnover. In 2003 it came to almost $16 billion. And this year, according to experts’ estimates, it may come to around $20 billion.

We set ourselves realistic tasks. In the nest 5–6 years, we are prepared to reach a trade turnover of $55 billion. In the following years, taking into account the strategic nature and geographical proximity, of course, we may pass the $100 billion mark, considering the growth rates of the economy.

I am convinced that cooperation in high-technology fields, in the fuel and energy complex, in science, atomic energy, in space exploration and creating advanced technology are the most promising areas of our cooperation.

We are also prepared to give the most serious attention to the development of specific projects in the Russian and Chinese economy, considering the growth rates of the northwest regions of China and the border regions of East Siberia and the Far East.

And the main document signed by us on this subject is devoted to solving this task – the Plan of action in the economic sphere for 2005–2008.

One of the most important factors in our cooperation is regional cooperation. We will talk about this in detail tomorrow, at the meeting in Xi’an with the heads of northwest provinces of China and a number of Russian regions.

I would like to mention another important result of the visit. We have opened new frontiers in humanitarian cooperation. Cultural and scientific exchanges, closer contacts between youth of the two countries – all this will help to bring our peoples closer together, to enrich them spiritually, and strengthen strategic partnership between Russia and China. Both sides supported the initiative to make 2006 the Year of Russia in China, and 2007 the Year of China in Russia.