Putin arrives in China for two-day visitJune 5, 2012 - 14:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive on Tuesday, June 4 in China for a two-day visit to discuss a variety issues with the focus on bilateral economic cooperation, according to RIA Novosti. The sides are expected to sign a joint communiqué and 17 agreements between the governments and companies from both countries, including in the energy sector, industry and innovation technologies. “We are setting a mid-term goal to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015 and to $200 bln by 2020,” Putin said in an article for Chinese official People’s Daily newspaper on the eve of his visit to China. Russian-Chinese trade reached a record $83.5 billion in 2011, a 40 percent increase year-on –year. “The current trend shows that the stated goal could be reached even earlier than we expect,” he said. Putin believes that in order to accomplish this task the sides should optimize the structure of bilateral trade, primarily through the increase of the share of value-added products in Russia’s exports to China. The Russian president expressed hope that Moscow and Beijing would continue close cooperation in the energy sector, including the construction of nuclear power reactors in China. “Russia has helped China to build the first stage of the Tianwan nuclear power plant (NPP), which is considered the safest in China, according to stress-tests,” Putin wrote. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |