The presidents of China and Ukraine, Hu Jintao and Viktor Yanukovych, said in Beijing on Thursday that their countries should raise bilateral relations to a new level.

The two countries will work to increase trade to $10 billion by 2012, Xinhua reported.

According to official statistics, bilateral trade was $3.3 billion in the first half of this year, up 31.3% year on year.

The two presidents looked on as some dozen documents on bilateral cooperation were signed in such areas as finance, infrastructure development, aerospace, business, customs, railways and electricity.

Under a commercial contract, Chinese companies will build a $950 million rail line connecting Kiev's airport with the center of the Ukrainian capital.

This is Yanukovych's first visit to China, and the first by a Ukrainian president since 2002.

MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti)