Heilongjiang province might open office in Vladivostok to raise investment from China
VLADIVOSTOK. July 4 (Interfax) - The Chinese side is prepared to open a representative office in Vladivostok to raise investment from China, the first secretary of the Heilongjiang provincial committee of China's Communist Party, Zhang Qingwei said at a meeting with Russian Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka on Monday.
"On the same basis as the branch of the Far East Investment and Export Agency opened by the Russian side in Beijing, [the province of Heilongjiang] is prepared to set up its representative office in Vladivostok in order to ensure real-time support and assistance in the implementation of the investment projects of Chinese investors in the Far East," Zhang Qingwei was quoted as saying by the Russian ministry's press service.
In the course of the meeting the parties also discussed regional cooperation between Russia's Far East Federal District and Heilongjiang, including the development of the Primorye-1 international transport corridor, the construction of the Poltavka-Dunnin automobile bridge crossing, as well as bilateral development of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island.
"The volume of shipments along Primorye-1 in the first four months of this year was equal to the volume of shipments for all of 2016," Galushka said.
The strong growth of shipments was due to the introduction of a whole range of measures by the Russian side, such as electronic declaration of freight, lower rates for railway shipments within the context of the corridor, introduction of a 24/7 working schedule for checkpoints, as well as the designation of checkpoints at ports in Primorye where state customs control over transit cargo will be carried out by a unified control body, Galushka said.
Russia believes it makes sense to introduce a similar operating regime at checkpoints on the Chinese side.
"Speaking about Chinese investment in the Primorye-1 international transport corridor, we understand that this is primarily investment in the competitive advantages of Heilongjiang province. In the course of [Chinese President] Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow there are plans to sign an agreement between our countries that calls for a joint mechanism for the development of international transport corridors," Galushka said.
A decision was made in June to form a joint management company to implement the Primorye-1 project, and Galushka believes it is also necessary to create a Russian-Chinese union of shippers of China's northern provinces.
The Primorye-1 corridor links the Chinese border town of Suifenhe, Grodekovo station, the Pogranichny district of Primorye and ports in the eastern part of the Russian region.