The prime ministers of Russia and China signed 20 bilateral agreements covering sectors such as energy, agriculture, customs and aerospace, and signed a framework credit agreement worth up to $3 billion.

The funding agreement was signed between Russian bank VEB and the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank China) to promote infrastructure projects and innovation in Russia, following a meeting between Dmitri Medvedev and Li Keqiang in the Great Hall of People in Beijing.

The Russian prime minister said at the meeting that he expected annual trade between the two countries to cross the $100 billion mark soon.

Medvedev added bilateral relations had peaked and this was the best time in history for mutual ties, official Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Russian gas company Novatek and the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp also signed an agreement to enable strategic cooperation.

In a joint press conference after the meeting, Keqiang said China was aiming to increase its investment in the Russian far-east and contribute to the development of the region.

Li and Medvedev also discussed the integration of Chinese payment system UnionPay with the Russian Mir (similar to Visa and MasterCard).

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying highlighted the visit in her daily press briefing, saying Medvedev was the first foreign leader to visit China after the election of the new leadership of the Communist Party of China in the recently concluded 19th Party Congress.

The Russian PM also met Chinese President Xi Jinping and speaker of national parliament Zhang Dejiang later in the day.

Originally Published in Latin American Herald Tribune