MOSCOW (Sputnik) — During the visit that will last through Thursday, December 17, Medvedev will take part in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government Council in Zhengzhou, and will make a speech at the opening ceremony of the Second World Internet Conference in Wucheng.
On the last day of his trip, Medvedev will have a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in Beijing.
The prime minister is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah in the framework of his visit to China.
As part of his visit, Medvedev is expected to discuss bilateral investments with Chinese officials.
SCO Heads of Gov't Council
During the meeting in Zhengzhou, the participants will focus on the status of and prospects for diverse cooperation between the SCO countries in the context of global political and economic processes.
The participants are planning to review the program for multilateral trade and economic cooperation between SCO countries and a list of measures on the further development of SCO projects in 2012-2016. The key topics of the upcoming summit will also include investment and transport.
A joint communique and statement on regional economic cooperation will be adopted and a number of decisions on SCO activities will be made, including the endorsement of the SCO budget for 2016. As part of an established practice, the SCO heads of state will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance comprising six member states, namely Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as five observer states and three dialogue partners.
World Internet Conference
Medvedev and Xi are expected to speak at the opening ceremony of the conference on “A Common and Jointly Governed World and the Development of Internet Community With Common Destiny.”
Bilateral Meetings
On December 17, during the 20th regular meeting of the Russian and Chinese heads of state, Medvedev and Li will discuss a broad range of issues related to trade, economic, scientific and investment cooperation, as well as bilateral humanitarian and cultural exchanges.
The signing of bilateral inter-government, inter-department and corporate documents will be timed to the regular meeting of the prime ministers.
Beijing will also host the closing ceremony of China-Russia youth exchange years (2014-2015), and the opening of the years of Russian and Chinese media (2016-2017).
Russia-China Relations
Moscow boosted its cooperation with Beijing, negotiating gas delivery contracts and intensifying diplomatic ties, after Russia’s relations with the West deteriorated following the beginning of the 2014 Ukraine crisis.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Beijing were set to intensify their financial cooperation, specifically, they plan to start using national currencies in mutual payments, intend to expand interregional ties and cross-border cooperation, as well as improving cross-border transport infrastructure.
In November, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev said that Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation was showing a positive development trend, with large-scale projects in transport infrastructure, the aviation industry, and nuclear energy underway.
