Broad prospects for cooperation lie in the regional and inter-parliamentary ties between China and Russia as mutual political trust and bilateral economic and trade ties are continually deepening, a top Chinese lawmaker said in Moscow on June 9.

Speaking at the China-Russia forum on regional and inter- parliamentary cooperation, Li Tieying, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, said China and Russia, as neighbors, are advantaged in developing bilateral ties, which are currently at their prime period of growth.

China and Russia share a mission to prosper and can complement each other in developing their economies, and the two countries' leadership has decided to boost bilateral trade to 60 billion US dollars to 80 billion dollars by 2010, Li said.

To this end, both sides need to expand areas of joint work, boost border and regional cooperation and strengthen links between the two countries' medium and small businesses, the top Chinese lawmaker said. Services should also be improved to facilitate bilateral trade, Li added.

The forum, which opened in the Russian capital Thursday, gathered lawmakers and officials from China and Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.

On the same day, Li met with Dmitri Mezentsev, deputy speaker of the Federation Council, to discuss issues relating to regional and inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

Source: Xinhua