China, Russia strengthen economic ties

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President Hu Jintao has met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. On Wednesday, the two leaders signed a joint statement calling for a greater role of emerging economies in international financial system.

China and Russia have declared a similar stand on the reform of international financial system and institutions. The joint statement calls for raising the controllability of the financial markets.

The two leaders expressed their opposition to trade protectionism and called for developing countries and emerging economies to have more say and representation in international financial institutions.

China and Russia have just signed a series of memorandums for cooperation including deals in coal and natural gas. The two leaders also approved a plan for investment cooperation.

So far this year, China and Russia have signed energy deals worth a record 100 billion US dollars.

The Russian Economy Ministry says China overtook Germany and the Netherlands as Russia's biggest trade partner in the first four months of this year.