Putin, Xi set task during talk to continue developing commercial, economic ties, including in energy sector - Kremlin aide

MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to develop ties in the energy sector, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.

"During the talk, the parties have set the task to make efforts to continue developing commercial and economic ties, including, for instance, in the energy sector. Russia ranks first in supplies of oil and pipeline gas to China," Ushakov told reporters following the Russian-Chinese talks.

It was noted during the Putin-Xi talks that bilateral trade "has been surpassing the bar of $200 billion with a considerable reserve for the third year in a row already, despite an insignificant decrease due to a number of subjective and objective factors," he said.

"China still holds the first place among our foreign trade partners and Russia the fifth among the countries that are China's trade partners," Ushakov said.