State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov on Sunday lauded the advancement of the China-Russia
bilateral partnership in the past year.
Meeting with Fradkov on the sidelines of the funeral of
Turkmenistan's late president Saparmurat Niyazov, Tang said the
past year saw a continuously rapid development of the China-Russia
strategic partnership of cooperation, which had already been
enhanced to a high level.
Leaders of the two countries exchanged mutual visits frequently,
political trust between the two sides was deepened and the
communication and coordination on international affairs remained
close, he said, adding the successful holding of the Year of Russia
in China has contributed to greatly enhancing bilateral exchange
and cooperation.
Tang said China was willing to exert further efforts along with
Russia to promote the bilateral relationship to a new level.
For his part, Fradkov said the Russia-China strategic
partnership forged ahead smoothly in 2006 and achieved abundant
fruits. Russia, satisfied with the great success of the Year of
Russia in China, is actively preparing the Year of China scheduled
to be held in Russia in 2007 to make sure it would be equally
successful.
Niyazov, 66, died early Thursday of a heart attack. He had been
leading the energy-rich country since 1985.
(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2006)
