China and Russia have enhanced
bilateral cooperation to create a stable political and economic
environment and promote prosperity in the border areas.
Agreements on the regular meetings between the governor of
Heilongjiang Province, northeast China, which shares long borders
with Russia, and heads of administrations of Russia's Chitinskaya
obl., Amurskaya obl., Yevreyskaya ao, Khabarovskiy Kray and
Primorskiy Kray have been signed for the purpose of promoting
bilateral cooperation.
Zhang Zhiqing, deputy head of the foreign affairs office of
Heilongjiang Province, said that governor Zhang Zuoji would visit
Amurskaya obl., Yevreyskaya ao, Khabarovskiy Kray and Primorskiy
Kray at the end of the year and in the first half of next
year.
Governor Zhang will meet the heads of administrations of the four
Russian regions for the first time since they signed the agreements
in October and early November last year. They will discuss plans on
bilateral exchanges and sign a series of agreements of cooperation
during their scheduled meetings.
With the approval of the central government of China, Heilongjiang
Province signed agreements on regular governor-level meetings with
the five Russian regions between October 22 and November 4 last
year.
Relevant parties have set up their respective committees for
regular meetings and established several working groups for
friendly exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade,
science and technology, and environmental protection.
This is the first regular
governor-level meeting mechanism that a Chinese province has
established with a foreign counterpart.
The regular meetings are scheduled to be held at least once every
year. Discussions will center on plans for bilateral cooperation,
sum up bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields and
solve major problems arising from exchanges and cooperation.
Heilongjiang Province Governor Zhang
Zuoji visited Chitinskaya obl. last month and met, for the first
time, with the head of administration of the Russia region. The two
sides signed six agreements on trade and economic cooperation and
plans on cooperation in the transportation, telecommunications,
building, forestry and development of mineral resources in
2004.
The two sides also agreed to further enhance cooperation in the
fields of education, culture, health, sports and tourism.
During the SARS period early this
year, officials from the Chinese province and relevant Russian
regions met several times to discuss cooperation in preventing the
spread of the disease and measures for guaranteeing safe trade
activities in the border areas.
The regular governor-level meeting mechanism has become an
important part of the strategic partnership of cooperation and good
neighborly cooperation between China and Russia, said Zhao Lizhi,
head of the Russia Research Institute under the Heilongjiang
Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.
Russia's decision to develop its far east region and China's
decision to rejuvenate its northeastern industrial base have made
it possible for the two sides to expand and deepen cooperation in
neighboring areas.
Statistics show that the trade volume between Heilongjiang and
Russia hit US$2.3 billion last year, or one-fifth of the total
trade volume between China and Russia for the same year.
(CCTV.com October 4, 2003)