Chinese and Russian companies have signed seven agreements to invest a total of 1.5 billion US dollars in joint projects at the second China-Russia conference on investment promotion, which concluded Friday in St. Petersburg.

Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, who attended the conference, has said China encourages its companies to invest more in Russia and also welcomes Russian companies to venture into Chinese markets.

The centerpiece of Chinese-Russian investment cooperation at this year's conference was the Baltic Pearl residential complex in St. Petersburg, the largest investment project in Russia led by a Chinese company in Shanghai that would involve a total financing of 1.3 billion dollars.

Other agreements signed at the conference included a project for a farm produce processing center in the Novgorod region, a fruit business in the Irkutsk region and a color television set production unit in Russia.

The total investment for these projects more than doubled over the sum both sides agreed to at last year's investment conference, Chinese officials said.

Source: Xinhua