Russia has much to learn from the reform experience of China, now a major economic power that is gaining increasing leverage in the international community, said Boris Gryzlov, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, during a recent interview with Xinhua.  

Many view China as a country that has created "economic miracles" during its reform process, Gryzlov told Xinhua in an interview on the eve of his visit to China. Gryzlov will head a State Duma delegation to China for a visit starting Thursday.

China is quick to take effective measures to protect its own interests within the rules of "a global game" in the tides of globalization, Gryzlov said. Foreign investment has been pouring into China and Chinese goods are finding their way into other countries, he added.

Gryzlov noted the key to China's economic success is its domestic stability which has attracted foreign investors and ensured the smooth running of their businesses in the country, something that Russia needs to focus on while learning from China's experiences.

Speaking of the Russian-Chinese cooperation, Gryzlov said that the two countries enjoy great potential for cooperation in parliamentary and international affairs.

The Russian Duma speaker said exchanges between Russia's Federal Assembly and China's National People's Congress (NPC) are an indispensable part of the political communication between the two countries. The inter-parliamentary tie has been continuously strengthened since a visit to China in May 1994 by a State Duma delegation.

Last May, the State Duma and the NPC reached an agreement on the establishment of an inter-parliamentary cooperation committee, and both sides will sign the committee's charter during the State Duma's upcoming visit to China, Gryzlov said.

During the interview, Gryzlov also talked about the economic ties between the two countries and noted the rapid growth of bilateral trade, which hit a record high of US$21.2 billion last year and grew by 35 percent year on year.

Significant changes have also taken place in the economic cooperation between the two countries, Gryzlov said. Promising joint oil and natural gas projects are being implemented, and the construction of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu Province, which involves Russian participation, is being revved up, he added.

Gryzlov expressed Russia's hope to diversify trade and deepen cooperation with China. Russia will speed up work on legislation to improve the investment environment for China, in order to boost bilateral economic cooperation, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2005)