China and Russia see great potential in trade and investment
with the former developing its northeastern regions and the latter
setting up special economic zones (SEZs), according to a senior
Chinese trade official.
"I believe the SEZs will play an important role in Russia
optimizing its investment environment and attracting foreign
capital," said Yu Guangzhou, vice-commerce minister.
"And it will also create new opportunities for Sino-Russian
collaboration in economy and trade."
Learning from the experience of China, Russia plans to set up
"one-stop" clearance windows in the SEZs which "will create good
opportunities for Chinese businesses' investment," Yu said.
He added the first Chinese-invested project in a Russian SEZ is
progressing smoothly.
China, which has 28 years of experience in the development of
SEZs, is collaborating with the Russian government in the building
of infrastructure in the zones, with Chinese investment and
knowhow.
The vice-minister also expects China's blueprint for developing
the northeast to help boost bilateral economic and trade exchanges
as the region shares a long border with Russia.
Double-digit growth has been registered in two-way trade for
eight years in a row since 1999, according to official figures.
Trade volume hit a record US$33.4 billion in 2006, up 15 percent
from the previous year.
Joint-venture projects have been launched in such industries as
resources exploitation, timber, household electrical appliances,
communications, building materials and, more recently, in the
energy and high-tech sectors.
The two governments are moving forward to restructure two-way
trade. Machinery and electronic products account for a relatively
small part of bilateral trade, especially among Russian
exports.
Yu said China is working on a host of measures to encourage
Chinese companies to sell more machinery and electronic products to
Russia and help its firms promote their products in the Chinese
market.
Konstantin Vnukov, director of the Asian department at the
Russian Foreign Ministry, said "the issue of improving the trade
structure is on the agenda" as Russia delivers mainly resources to
China now.
(China Daily March 26, 2007)
