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Chinese premier suggests greater bilateral openness during meeting with Putin

Li Keqiang arrived on a visit to Russia on an invitation from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on September 16

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and China's Premier Li Keqiang shake hands during a meeting at the Moscow Kremlin Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and China's Premier Li Keqiang shake hands during a meeting at the Moscow Kremlin

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

BEIJING, September 19. /TASS/. During talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang suggested increasing mutual transparency of Russia and China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"I hope that our countries would show determination and increase the degree of openness to each other, boost bilateral investments and increase presence on each other’s markets," the statement quoted Li Keqiang as saying.

According to the premier, in order to promote the prosperity of Russia and China, the sides should create more favorable opportunities for the Russian and Chinese businesses and achieve new fruitful results in the domain of pragmatic bilateral cooperation.

He said that Beijing was determined to actively promote the convergence of the One Belt - One Road initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

"The Chinese side is interested in further strengthening of friendly relations with Russia, in enhancing cooperation, in stepping up contacts. Jointly with Russia, we are seeking to protect key and fundamental multilateral bodies, such as the UN and the WTO, on the international arena - this is important for global prosperity and stability," Li Keqiang said.

Li Keqiang arrived on a visit to Russia on an invitation from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on September 16. The visit took place in the year when Moscow and Beijing celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.

Bilateral talks between the Russian and Chinese premiers and the 24th regular meeting of heads of the Russian and Chinese governments took place in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg on September 17.

After the regular meeting, the sides signed a joint communique and a number of documents.

The Russian premier said Russia was ready to further develop cooperation with China in all directions.

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