Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang delivers a speech at a meeting on China-Russia trade and investment, Moscow, April 29, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOSCOW - Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang attended a meeting on China-Russia trade and investment here Saturday, as part of the two countries' efforts to further expand their trade and economic cooperation.

While addressing the meeting, Li said both China and Russia have witnessed an unprecedented development of their relations in recent years and the countries are continuing expansion of their comprehensive, strategic partnership of coordination.

China is now the top trade partner of Russia which is in turn the fastest growing trade partner of China, Li said, adding that the two countries have been stepping up their cooperation on investment and big bilateral projects, which have considerably facilitated both countries' economic development.

The rapid development of China-Russia trade and economic cooperation was attributed to their comprehensively deepened relations, as well as both countries' vigorous economic growth, Li said.

The Chinese vice premier stressed the economic growth of both countries has laid an important foundation for close cooperation, while the countries' transition to innovation-oriented economy has brought new impetus to bilateral cooperation.

Both countries' openness and development have also left much room for their future cooperation, said Li, urging greater efforts to be made in seizing opportunities and advance reciprocal cooperation.

He also proposed that the two countries explore new fields for cooperation while improving traditional cooperation programs, and expand the scale of joint projects and increase bilateral investment.

The Chinese vice premier emphasized the importance of paying great attention to the quantity and the quality of projects for cooperation, given the bilateral trade targets for the year 2015 and the year 2020 are set at 100 billion US dollars and 200 billion dollars, respectively.

Li suggested that the two countries could focus their cooperation on strategic fields, with state-owned enterprises being encouraged to jointly work toward areas such as large machinery and equipment, infrastructure, energy, space, nanotechnology, high-end manufacturing sector and bio-medicine.

While urging great efforts in improving weak links of cooperation between the two countries and suggesting direct investment be listed as the priority in bilateral cooperation, Li said China is willing to import more high value-added mechanical and electric products from Russia and predicted regional cooperation between the two countries would also be expanded.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov also attended the meeting.

China is a reliable strategic partnership of Russia and the bilateral trade and economic cooperation of the two countries have benefited both countries, said Shuvalov, who believed the two countries should further expand their cooperation in more new fields as both Russia and China are stepping up their economic transition.

Before the meeting, Li also met with entrepreneurs from both countries and attended a signing ceremony of bilateral trade and economic agreements together with Shuvalov.

The two countries signed 27 trade contracts worth 15.2 billion U.S. dollars Saturday.  

Li arrived here Thursday for an official visit at the invitation of the Russian government. He will also visit Hungary, Belgium and the European Union headquarters in Brussels.