MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang with the Order of Friendship.

"I would like to note that you personally are doing a lot to develop the Russian-Chinese ties," he said at a meeting with the head of the Chinese delegation at the Eastern Economic Forum. "In light of this, I signed a decree on awarding you with the Order of Friendship. This order will be presented to you during the prime ministers’ meeting by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev."

Putin noted that Wang Yang is working intensively in Russia. Earlier this week, he visited Volgograd where he held talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, and after taking part in the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok he will travel to Khabarovsk to chair a meeting of the intergovernmental commission dedicated to the development of cooperation between Russia’s Far East and China’s northeastern regions.

The Russian president recalled that nearly 200 Chinese companies took part in the Eastern Economic Forum last year. "Over the past two years, the total volume of Chinese investment in Russia’s Far East has amounted to more than $3 bln. Intense work is underway to implement our agreements with the Chinese president," Putin said, expressing confidence that the current forum will be no less fruitful for the Chinese side. "So your work has real practical results."