China says ties with Russia at unprecedented high

BEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) Relations between giant neighbours China and Russia have reached an unprecedented high, China's president said in comments published today ahead of a regional security forum summit.

President Hu Jintao also called Russia China's most important strategic cooperation partner in an interview with journalists from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which groups the two with the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

''Relations between the two countries have reached unprecedented levels,'' Hu said, in comments that were carried on the Foreign Ministry's Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn).

''The volume of bilateral trade has had seven years of extremely high growth and cooperation in the fields of energy and investment has made great progress,'' he said.

Once Cold War foes, ties between the two have been growing as China seeks to tap Russia's oil and gas resources to fuel its booming economy and with the two sharing common views on how the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme should be resolved.

Trade between China and Russia, who share a 4,300-km border, reached nearly 30 billion dollars last year, and the two signed a series of energy agreements during a visit by President Vladimir Putin in March.

Beijing and Moscow also see common ground in trying to ensure stability in Central Asia and in checking US presence there.

Hu said fighting the threats of terrorism, separatism and extremism were the main goals of the SCO, whose annual summit will be held on June 15 in Shanghai.

Its members have signed an anti-drug trafficking agreement and are considering extending the accord to include Afghanistan, whose President Hamid Karzai has been invited to attend the forum as its guest.

China is also offering SCO member states 900 million dollars worth of loans in the form of preferential buyers credit for members who buy Chinese exports, Hu said.

In addition to the six members of the regional group, observer states Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran have also been invited to attend.

Reuters SRS GC1026