Mironov to visit China

BEIJING, October 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Speaker of Russia's Federation
Council Sergei Mironov starts on Sunday his official visit to the People's
Republic of China, where he will have several meetings with local
parliamentarians and the country leaders.
"The visit is going to be busy and I hope that it will be another
input in the joint basis of our friendship and cooperation, first of all
between members of parliaments," he said.
The Federation Council's delegation will take part in the fourth
meeting of the Inter-parliamentary commission cooperation due in Beijing
on Monday, October 18.
Mironov will have meetings with the current Paramount Leader of the
People's Republic of China Hu Jintao and with China's Premier Wen Jiabao.
Over the recent visit of Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev to
Beijing, the two countries signed a package of agreements on cooperation
in various spheres.
"Those 17 agreements need to have a legal base, which should be
prepared by the parliaments of our countries, "- Mironov said. "Our
countries cooperate in various spheres, like the economy, politics, and
humanitarian programmes."
"Our cooperation in the economy is a priority, and here we pay special
attention to the cooperation between Russia's Far East and Siberian
regions and bordering provinces of China," he said. "This is cooperation
in oil and gas as well as in nuclear industry."
"We have good plans for cooperation in high technologies and while in
Beijing I would like to meet with representatives of the scientific
community to discuss these matters," Mironov said.
He highlighted the fact that the two countries often "share similar
positions on most major international problems," which is very important
as both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council.
"We appreciate our cooperation, our common views and we shall do our
best to develop this cooperation in future."
Mironov ranks third among political leaders in Russia. It will be not
for the first time that he comes to China. This time, his first
destination will be Chongqing, a city in South-West China with a
population of about 30 million.
"It will be my first trip to south-west, and I appreciate the
suggestion from our counterparts to visit this very interesting city," he
said and added that he would be like to learn the experience of managing a
big city like Chingqing.
The official visit of the Federation Council's delegation to China
will last for three days.

-0-kar