China, Russia to strengthen regional co-op: officials

BEIJING: China and Russia would strengthen coordination to better implement the regional cooperation program approved by state leaders last year, officials from the two countries said here on Sunday.

The statement was made by Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration and vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, and representatives of the Russian government, at the China-Russian regional cooperation symposium.

In September 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev approved the cooperation program between northeast China and Russia's far east and east Siberian region.

Zhang said the cooperation program, covering many fields, included more than 300 key projects in local cooperation and infrastructure construction and transformation.

The symposium is the first bilateral meeting aimed at promoting China-Russia regional cooperation since the approval of the cooperation program.