RF, PRC to increase settlements in nat'l currencies--view.

18/6 Tass 241

MOSCOW, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Federation (RF) and the
People's Republic of China (PRC) will be successively increasing the share
of joint trade settlements in national currencies, RF presidential aide
Arkady Dvorkovich said here on Thursday at a meeting of the fourth joint
session of the Russo-Chinese business council.

Dvorkovich said, "The high level of our relations is best reaffirmed
by the fact that the leaders of our two countries -- Presidents Dmitry
Medvedev of the RF and Hu Jintao of the PRC -- spent the past three days
together. At first within the scope of the summits of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation and the BRIC group (compirsing Brazil, Russia,
India, and China) and then within the framework of our Chinese guests's
official visit to Moscow".
"Contacts between our leaders were very substantive and interesting,
aimed at accomplishing concrete tasks. These joint tasks lie on two
planes," he said.
"First, our bilateral contacts that develop successfully. This
concerns trade and investments. Second, our participation in and
interaction at international forums in the search for and adoption of
decisions with a view to counteracting global challenges," Dvorkovich
explained.
"The implementation of several tens of large-scale joint projects was
started in recent years within the framework of the activities of the
Russo-Chinese business council," he recalled, pointing out that "This is
indicative of the Russian businesses' growing interest in interaction with
the Chinese partners".
"This applies to all areas of the economy, beginning from the
traditional raw materials sectors where China has considerable demand,
taking into account its high rate of economic growth, including the
processing industry, finances, military-technical cooperation, and high
technologies," Dvorkovich specified.
He is confident that "This is illusrative of openness that
increasingly manifests itself in our relations and of the fact that we are
ready to implement joint projects in absolutely any sector irrespective of
whether we compete in it or have established partner's relations."
The Russian presidential aide is of the opinion that "All decisions
that were taken within the framework of Chinese President Hu Jintao's
official visit will promote the establishment of further business contacts
between our two countries and, first of all, a successive increase in the
share of settlement in the national currencies in our joint trade".
"Russia and China would like the role of the Yuan and the rouble to grow
step by step in the world and in our (bilateral) trade," Arkady Dvorkovich
said.
Touching upon the two countries' interaction in the solution of global
issues, the Russian presidential aide pointed out, "We have very close
positions on many a subject, including ways to overcome the global
economic downturn".
"We have got different economic situations in the two countries but
nevertheless ours and Chinese partners' key to solving problems lies in
the development of the national economies and the domestic market.
Provided we have common tasks, we can also find common ways to resolve our
problems," Dvorkovich maintains.
"On many a matter we shall be competing, but that must result in
benefit, not losses. The downturn period is not the time to come to a
stop. It is essential to look for fresh possibilities. Therefore we shall
continue to seek to give greater scope to our interaction," Dvorkovich
said in conclusion.
-0-pop/gor