Premiers Agree to Study China Pipeline Proposal
Visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji signed a deal in St. Petersburg with his Russian counterpart to evaluate a proposal for a $1.7-billion oil pipeline from Siberia to northeastern China.
Expanding on an accord reached during Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s visit to Moscow in July, Zhu and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail M. Kasyanov agreed to start a feasibility study for the proposed 1,480-mile pipeline.
The deal was among seven agreements the leaders signed. They also signed a contract for delivery of five Tupolev-204 civilian planes to Chinese airlines over the next three years.
Relations “are like a car moving along a speedway,” Zhu said at the signing ceremony.
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