Trip to improve exchange in trade, infrastructure and technologies

Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China starting on Saturday, major cooperative investment programs have been decided on by the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee.

The committee's third meeting on Friday in Beijing was co-chaired by Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and visiting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, who co-hosted the second meeting roughly a year ago in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Senior diplomatic, commerce and finance officials were convening to prepare for the upcoming meeting between the top leaders of China and Russia.

Details of the new programs have not yet been unveiled, according to an official release.

Zhang said that as two-way investment expands, both countries should enable conditions for companies to expand investment and introduce more cooperative programs.

Shuvalov said Russia hopes to determine and implement more such programs.

When meeting with Alexei Miller, CEO of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, Zhang called on both sides to promote cooperation over the West Route natural gas project when implementing the East Route project.

The East Route - planned to export 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China - started construction in 2014, and the West Route saw a framework agreement signed last year.

Another better known project is a high-speed railway between Moscow and Kazan, a route to be extended to the northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Li Hui, Chinese ambassador to Russia, noted in a signed article in Friday's People's Daily that the two countries are "advancing cooperation in priority areas including energy, civil aviation and high-speed railway".

Feng Yujun, head of the Institute of Russian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Putin's upcoming state visit to China "aims to reinforce economic cooperation - particularly trade, investment, infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies".

"Both countries are faced with demanding tasks for structural reform even as they face economic pressures," Feng said.

On Thursday, Xi met with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent.

Xi said the upcoming China visit is "of special significance" in light of the countries' efforts to boost political and strategic trust, and they will strengthen coordination on global and regional affairs.

Putin, voicing hopes for his visit, also offered condolences for the victims of the storms and tornado in China's Jiangsu province on Thursday.