Chinese vice premier calls for closer energy partnership with Russia

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The fifth China-Russia Energy Business Forum opened on Thursday in Beijing, with Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang addressing the opening ceremony and reading a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Russia energy cooperation has always maintained a good momentum of positive development.

The vice premier said that China and Russia are important energy producers and consumers in the world, and have obvious complementary advantages and great potential for cooperation. They should implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, build a closer energy partnership, push forward China-Russia energy cooperation to make more new achievements, and make more new contributions to ensuring global energy security and promoting sustainable development of energy, he added.

Ding put forward three proposals for deepening China-Russia energy cooperation.

First, the two countries should solidly promote energy infrastructural connectivity, continue to maintain effective communication, and jointly ensure the safe and stable operation of cross-border energy channels.

Second, China and Russia should actively expand new growth points of energy cooperation, strengthen cooperation in emerging fields such as renewable energy, hydrogen energy, energy storage and the carbon market, and work together to promote technological revolution and industrial development in low-carbon fields.

Third, he said the two sides should continue to deepen global energy governance cooperation, firmly safeguard the openness and connectivity of the global energy market, and promote the establishment of a fair, just, balanced and inclusive global energy governance system.

Igor Sechin, executive secretary of the Russian presidential commission for the strategic development of the fuel and energy sector and environmental security, and chief of Russian oil company Rosneft, addressed the opening ceremony and read a congratulatory letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also delivered a speech.

After the opening ceremony, Ding met with the Russian high-level delegation attending the forum.

The opening ceremony was attended by more than 400 representatives from relevant departments of China and Russia, energy enterprises, financial institutions, research institutes and industrial associations.