ST. PETERSBURG - China and Russia signed an agreement on electrical cooperation on the sidelines of the ongoing St. Petersburg International Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

The deal was signed among Russia's power company IDGC Holding, Russia's manufacturer Eurocontract High-Voltage Switchgear and China's XD electric company, which is aimed to support the safe operation and maintenance of the 110 KV electrical grid in Russia.

"It (the agreement) opens new perspectives of international cooperation between China and Russia and advances modernization of the power grid," Yang Baolin, vice-president of the XD electric company, told Xinhua after the signing ceremony.

Yang said that electricity is a key component of bilateral cooperation. With more than ten years' rapid development of its electrical grid, China has accumulated rich experiences which may prove useful to the construction and development of Russia's electric power industry.

The 16th annual forum kicked off on Thursday. The three-day forum, with the theme of "Affective Leadership," has attracted over 5,000 participants from all over the world to St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.

The forum, which was launched in 1997, has become a platform for the discussion of such issues as the global economy, in particular the increasing role of emerging economies in shaping regional and global agenda.