At the invitation of Premier Zhu Rongji of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister Kasyanov of the Russian Federation paid an official visit to the People's Republic of China from 3 to 4 November 2000, during which the two Heads of Government held the fifth regular meeting.

President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Li Peng of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Premier Zhu Rongji held meetings and talks with Prime Minister Kasyanov respectively. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on ways to deepen the all-round mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic, scientific and technological fields and in the international arena and reached broad consensus.

The two sides expressed satisfaction over the sustained and stable development of the strategic cooperative partnership of equality and trust between China and Russia. Both agreed that the mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in various fields is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples and plays an important role in maintaining regional and world peace and stability.

The Heads of Government of China and Russia emphasized that the Beijing Declaration between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation and the Joint Statement on the ABM Issue between the President of the People's Republic of China and the President of the Russian Federation signed by President Jiang Zemin and Vladmir Putin on 18 July 2000 are of great significance for the future development of their bilateral relations. The Chinese and Russian Governments will continue to take all necessary measures to implement the agreements reached by the two Heads of State during their meeting in Beijing in July.

The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation reaffirmed Russia's consistent principled position on the Taiwan question, i.e., the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China; Taiwan is an inseparable part of the Chinese territory; the Russian Federation does not support "Taiwan independence" in any form. It supports the position of the People's Republic of China of not accepting "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan", opposes Taiwan's membership in the United Nations and other international organizations where only sovereign states qualify, and will not sell weapons to Taiwan.

The two sides held that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affairs and its solution brooks no intervention by outside forces, and that any such attempt will only intensify tension in the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese side holds no objection to non-governmental ties between Russia and Taiwan in the economic, trade, scientific and technological, cultural and sports fields.

The two sides pointed out that China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, shoulder great responsibilities for world peace and development. They expressed satisfaction over the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in the international affairs and emphasized that China and Russia would continue to strengthen strategic cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world with a view to promoting the multi-polarization process and the establishment of a new international political and economic order.

During the fifth regular meeting between the two Heads of Government, the two sides focused their consultations on concrete steps for the implementation of the agreements reached in principle at the summit in Beijing in July 2000. The two sides agreed that the regular meeting mechanism between the two Heads of Government has played and will continue to play an important role in the development of economic cooperation and trade between the two countries. The two Heads of Government gave a positive assessment of the work of the various subcommittees in the regular meeting mechanism since their fourth regular meeting in Moscow in February 1999.

The two Heads of Government agreed on the establishment of the subcommittees on aerospace cooperation and on banking cooperation. The two subcommittees have successfully held their first sessions.

The two sides reached agreement in principle on establishing, within the regular meeting mechanism, the Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation at the Vice-Premier/Deputy Prime Minister levels. The two sides agreed that Vice-Premier Li Lanqing of the State Council of the People's Republic of China would pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in December 2000, during which the two sides would reach agreement through consultations on the establishment and operation of the above-mentioned Committee.

The two sides agreed on the Minutes of the fourth session of the Committee on Regular Meetings Between the Heads of Government of China and Russia.

The two Heads of Government pointed out that certain progress had been made in implementing the agreements reached at the fourth regular meeting on forestry cooperation, the opening of Chinese supermarkets in Moscow, the establishment and development of direct economic exchanges and trade between regions of China and Russia and on the initiation and implementation of nuclear power and oil/gas projects. Both emphasized that the signing and earnest implementation of the agreement on mutual exemption of visas and citizen exchanges had created conditions for regulating the large number of citizen exchanges between the two countries.

During the fifth regular meeting, the two sides signed the following documents:

Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the Committee on Regular Metings between the Heads of Government of China and Russia;

Agreement between the Two Heads of Government between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Establishment of Direct Confidential Telephone Line;

Protocol to Agreement signed on 27 June 1997 between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Establishment of Regular Meeting Mechanism and Its Organizational Principles;

Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on Short-term Labor Service of Citizens of the People's Republic of China and Citizens of the Russian Federation;

Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation on the Joint Development of Forest Resources;

2001-2005 Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation;

Agreement between the Ministry of Land and Resources of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation on Scientific and Technological Cooperation concerning Geoscience and the Utilization of Mineral Resources;

Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in Innovative Areas;

Memorandum of Understanding between the State Administration of Taxation Bureau of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation;

Agreement on Cooperation between the National Development Bank of China and the USSR Foreign Economic Exchange Bank of the Russian Federation;

Cooperation Agreement between the State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision of the People's Republic of China and the National Standardization and Metrology Commission of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in Standardization, Weighing and Measuring, Quality Assessment, Approval and Control;

Agreement between Jiangsu Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation concerning China's Assistance to Russia on Manufacturing of Long Production Cycle Equipment in the Construction of Tianwan Nuclear Power Station pursuant to the Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation signed on 18 December 1992 on the Joint Construction of Nuclear Power Stations in China and on the Provision of Government Loans by Russia to China;

Agreement on the Participation of ROK Natural Gas Corporation of the ROK in Preparation for the Construction of Natural Gas Pipeline from the Condensate Gas Field in Irkutskaya of Russia to China and the ROK and in the Feasibility Study of Developing the Condensate Gas Field.

The two sides emphasized their readiness to conduct active and all-round cooperation in such concrete areas as trade and investment, science and technology, energy, power and general machinery manufacturing, aerospace, civil aviation manufacturing, transportation and military technology cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, complementarity of advantage and market rules, so as to fully tap the economic potential of the two sides and upgrade bilateral economic and technical cooperation.

The two Heads of Government agreed to continue to develop bilateral economic cooperation in the following areas:

1. improving coordination in the financial, banking, insurance, public information, legal arbitration, transportation and other areas;

2. actively support by relevant government departments of China and Russia for the initiation and implementation of large cooperation projects in nuclear power, oil and gas, aerospace and other areas;

3. continuing to promote direct economic, trade and scientific and technological exchanges between regions of the two countries;

4. promoting the establishment of direct long-term cooperative relations between large enterprises and companies of good reputation of China and Russia.

Enterprises and organizations of the two countries will continue talks for cooperation on energy, power, environmental protection and other infrastructure in developing China's West and explore mutually acceptable forms and ways for such cooperation.

The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation attached great importance to the upcoming "Shanghai Five" Meeting of Heads of Government and will work for full preparation of the Meeting to facilitate multilateral trade and economic cooperation open to all interested countries.

The two sides expressed satisfaction over the results of the fifth regular meeting of the Heads of Government.

The two sides agreed through discussions that the sixth regular meeting between the Heads of Government of China and Russia would be held in Moscow in 2001. Specific date of the meeting will be discussed and agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

Zhu Rongji M. Kasyanov

Premier of the State Council of the People's Prime Minister of the Government of the

Republic of China Russian Federation



November 3, 2000