On the afternoon of November 7, 2016 local time, Premier Li Keqiang co-chaired the 21st Regular Meeting between Chinese Premier and Russian Prime Minister with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia in Constantine Palace, St. Petersburg.

Li Keqiang said that China and Russia are each other's biggest neighbor and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination. Bilateral relations have witnessed sustained, stable and sound development, and new results have been constantly achieved in pragmatic cooperation. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia maintain communication and coordination in international affairs, jointly safeguard the purpose and principles of the UN Charter and promote regional and international peace and stability. China is willing to make joint efforts with Russia to better connect the “Belt and Road” initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union, and constantly enhance the level of bilateral relations and cooperation, in order to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and benefit the two peoples.

Li Keqiang pointed out that amid the sluggish recovery of the world economy and the slowing trade growth trend, China and Russia should further give play to each other’s complementary advantages to inject impetus to respective development, revitalization and economic transformation and upgrade. China is willing to, together with Russia, deeply tap cooperation potential and deepen cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, aviation manufacturing, railways and other infrastructure construction. In the next phase, both sides should focus on expanding cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in innovation cooperation, so as to add new driving force into bilateral pragmatic cooperation. Both sides should strengthen financial cooperation, expand the settlement scale of local currency, and provide support for the smooth progress of related cooperation. The two countries should make efforts in expanding the trade scale, jointly safeguard the world trade system and rules, and comprehensively enhance the level of facilitation, so as to push bilateral trade and two-way investment for sound and sustainable development. As bilateral cooperation in agriculture, especially the deep processing of agricultural products, has broad prospects, its development should be jointly boosted. China and Russia should intensify people-to-people and cultural exchanges, beef up cooperation in science, technology, education and other areas, and ensure the success of China-Russia Media Exchange Year held this year and in 2017.

Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia and China are friendly neighbors. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Russia-China strategic partnership of coordination and the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between Russia and China. Both sides should take this opportunity to maintain high-level operation of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, collaborate with and support each other in the UN, the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS and other multilateral frameworks, further deepen bilateral economic cooperation and optimize trade structures. Cherishing Russia-China friendly cooperation, Russia is willing to implement the consensus reached by both sides, give greater play to the role of the inter-governmental cooperation mechanisms, and comprehensively advance pragmatic cooperation in various fields. While actively carrying out cooperation in large projects in such areas as oil, gas and civilian nuclear power, both sides should focus on reinforcing innovation cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises. Both sides should also deepen cooperation in finance to provide financing support for cooperation between enterprises of both countries. Cooperation in electromechanical equipment, agriculture, science and technology, aviation, high-speed railways and other fields should be strengthened to complete the goal of increasing bilateral trade volume. Both sides should enhance local exchanges and cooperation in the Far East and other areas, ensure the success of Russia-China Media Exchange Year, send more overseas students to each other, and strengthen tourism cooperation, so as to promote the good-neighborly friendship between Russia and China. Both countries should further strengthen cooperation in international affairs to jointly cope with global challenges.

Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev listened to work report from the 4 bilateral cooperation mechanisms including China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation, Committee on Regular Meetings between Chinese Premier and Russian Prime Minister, China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee and China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee, exchanging in-depth views on future cooperation planning.

Chair of China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation on the Chinese side and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Chairman of Committee on Regular Meetings between Chinese Premier and Russian Prime Minister on the Chinese side and Vice Premier Wang Yang, and people in charge of corresponding mechanism on the Russian side, including First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, and Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, attended the meeting.