Official website of the President of Russia

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President Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr Premier, dear colleagues, allow me to wish you a warm welcome.

I am very glad that we have the opportunity to meet again, this time in the Russian capital. There is a very good reason for your visit to our country: the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states. This organisation is developing rapidly and gaining ever greater political weight in the world. I am sure that you will also make use of this opportunity to discuss bilateral Russian-Chinese relations.

Our trade and economic ties are growing and are expanding all the time. We are very pleased to see this and we sure that we have not yet reached the limit. President Hu Jintao and I have spoken about this on many occasions.

Premier Wen Jiabao (translated from Russian): This year we expect a very good result for bilateral trade.

Vladimir Putin: Yes.

Wen Jiabao: We hope that our bilateral trade will exceed the $28-billion mark this year.

Vladimir Putin: I share this same hope, all the more so as all the right conditions are in place now through the work that has been done over recent years to develop relations between our two countries.

We are very happy to see you here in Moscow.

Wen Jiabao: First of all, I would like to thank you, Mr President, for finding the time for a separate meeting with myself and my colleagues. On behalf of President Hu Jintao, I would like to pass on to you his warmest greetings.

I am also ready to make use of this opportunity and to make our bilateral relations the main subject of attention during our meeting today. This is a matter both strategic and practical in character. I also share the view that our economic ties are an important foundation for bilateral relations between China and Russia.