On the eve of an official visit to Russia from Sept 16 to 18 and the 24th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government, Russia's TASS news agency published an interview with Premier Li Keqiang, drawing wide attention from international media.
The Chinese Premier said it is not easy to maintain the economic growth rate of over 6 percent, which remains at the forefront of the world's major economies, BBC reported.
The Premier stressed that China's economy has great potential for development and a lot of room for maneuver, according to VOA’s report.
Reuters mentioned Premier Li’s remarks on the relationship between China’s employment and its economic growth. Employment is crucial to people's well-being, both moderate high and low growth rates are acceptable, as long as society achieves relatively full employment, people’s income continues to increase, and the environment improves.
Premier Li’s visit comes as the two countries prepare for the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and TASS news agency quoted the information bureau of the general office of the Russian President as saying, the meeting aims to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.
TASS News Agency noted that Premier Li will talk with his counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, about measures to promote Sino-Russian trade, to achieve the goal of $200 billion in bilateral trade by 2024, which was set by the two heads of state in June.
China has been Russia’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, and trade volume between the two countries exceeded $100 billion for the first time last year, up 27.1 percent.
“This shows that there is huge potential for China and Russia to cooperate,”Premier Li said after this year’s two sessions in March, when he answered questions from a Russian reporter, adding that the two countries could expand cooperation in promoting commodities trade and cross-border e-commerce, among others.
Sino-Russia cooperation in aerospace and people-to-people exchanges also attracts a lot of attention from the Russian media.
RIA Novosti news agency said that China and Russia are expected to sign cooperation agreements in the fields of aerospace, interconnection, trade and others.
The Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper found that in 2018 alone, Russia's food exports to China increased by 42 percent, exceeding the growth rate of overall bilateral trade. Agricultural products and food trade may become a new growth point for Sino-Russian trade.
In addition, two of Russia’s major media channels will broadcast films celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia.
As a major mechanism for promoting all-around pragmatic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian prime ministers will open up a broader space for pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia in the new era, Sputnik news agency said.
