BEIJING - China is ready to join with Russia to increase two-way investment, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said here Thursday.

Zhang made the remark as he met with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov in the Great Hall of the People.

Their talks were focused on bilateral investment and practical cooperation in the financial area, in preparation for the forthcoming meeting between the two heads of state.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet when Putin attends the Fourth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), on May 20 and 21 in Shanghai.

Zhang said bilateral cooperation in the areas of investment and finance has made major progress. China has increased investment in Russia and become the country's fourth largest source of foreign direct investment.

He said financial cooperation between China and Russia is growing as local currency settlement in two-way trade increases and consultations on a package of currency swaps are on-going.

Zhang expressed the hope that the two sides increase mutual investment via the China-Russia investment fund and carry out the first batch of investment projects as planned.

He said the two sides should increase investment in the forms of greenfield investment, equity investment, bond issuance and mergers and acquisitions.

Zhang asked the Russian side to help Chinese enterprises to invest in special economic zones in the Far East region of Russia.

Zhang expressed the wish that the two sides will step up exchanges and actively explore proper forms of cooperation in a bid to expand financial cooperation and promote common prosperity.

Shuvalov said Putin's China visit will be of great significance for maintaining high-level of bilateral relations. He said Russia is ready to work with China to lift bilateral trade, investment and financial cooperation to new levels.

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