Russia, China agree on joint development of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island

MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - Russian Far East and Arctic Development Minister Alexei Chekunov and China's National Development and Reform Commission head Zheng Shanjie have signed a general roadmap for a project to develop Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island on the Amur river

The document was signed in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island is developing into a place of Russian-Chinese friendship, the Russian Far East Development Ministry said in a statement. The main areas of cooperation here will be joint projects on environmental protection and the cultivation of unique crops and curative plants, as well as the creation of an international transport corridor that includes an automobile border checkpoint, motorways leading to it, and transport and logistic infrastructure.

In addition, an international cooperation center including congress and exhibition spaces, hotels, a creative cluster, energy utilities, telecommunications, and hydro-protection infrastructure, tourism and recreation facilities will be built on the island. Joint work on science, medicine, healthcare, the bioeconomy, the digital economy, and IT will also be carried out on the island.

The agreement on developing Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island has been anticipated for 20 years, the statement quoted Chekunov as saying. "In 2004, Russia and China agreed on the principle of One Island, Two Countries. The western part of the island, China's, is called Heixiazi (Black Bear Island). The Eastern part is Russia's Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island. The approaches could not be synchronized for a long time. The island is important to China; Xi Jinping even visited it in 2017. It is noteworthy that the easternmost point of China is located on the Chinese side. That's a significant fact for the most oriental power in the world and a potentially strong magnet for tourists. Today we agreed on creating a new border checkpoint, developing transport and logistics infrastructure, tourism and recreation. Khabarovsk will soon also become close to China, like Blagoveshchensk. We will present a detailed plan for implementing the roadmap at the World Economic Forum in September," Chekunov said.