Chinese president meets Russian Prime Minister Putin

Oct 12, 2011, 4:53 GMT

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after the two sides had signed deals on oil, gas, investment and high-technology cooperation.

Their discussions focussed on strengthening the 'strategic relations of cooperation and partnership' between the two nations, state media said.

On Tuesday, Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao witnessed the signing of several major investment deals after talks that focussed on trade, energy and global affairs.

Wen said the two sides had settled a dispute over the price of oil from a pipeline running from Siberia to China, following a dispute over tariffs when Russia began pumping 300,000 barrels daily in January.

Putin said they were also close to resolving a disagreement over gas giant Gazprom's demand for China to pay a price close to European levels for its gas imports from Russia.

Russian and Chinese media said the total value of 16 deals signed during Putin's visit was about 7 billion dollars.

They included an agreement to set up a joint investment fund worth up to 4 billion dollars to be used mainly for projects in Russia.

Other agreements covered cooperation in energy-saving technology, high-speed railways, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and the development of fast-neutron nuclear reactors, reports said.

Putin also met Wu Bangguo, the official number two in China's ruling Communist Party, on Wednesday.

China is Russia's top trade partner and Putin said bilateral trade could reach 80 billion dollars this year.

The two nations have agreed goals to increase two-way trade to 100 billion dollars by 2015 and 200 billion dollars by 2020.

Read more about Russia