Rustam Minnikhanov meets with Governor of China's Hunan Province

On May 20, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met with Governor of China's Hunan Province Du Jiahao in Shanghai. Aide to Tatarstan President on International Issues Radik Gimatdinov, Deputy Board Chairman of OAO “Ak Bars Bank” Zufar Garaev, Director General of SEZ “Alabuga” Timur Shagivaleev, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People's Government Dai Daojin took part in the meeting.

Tatarstan President thanked the Governor of Hunan Province for an opportunity to meet on the threshold of the Russia-China forum. Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan is one of the most developed regions of the Russian Federation. "We have heard a lot about your province and have great interest in establishing relations with Hunan Province," he said, addressing Du Jiahao.

He noted that while the republic has no large joint projects with China yet, Chinese companies are implementing a number of projects in Tatarstan. Thus, the construction of the new plant “Ammonium” is being done by Chinese company CNCEC, and Haier company is planning to launch its facilities for the production of refrigeration equipment.

Rustam Minnikhanov briefly informed the Governor about Tatarstan economy. “Taking into account the potential of your province, we suggest that you consider the possibility of establishing your enterprises at our special economic zones, specially set up to implement innovative projects. The Russian market is very large, and Tatarstan is a good place business to enter ity,” Rustam Minnikahnov said.

He invited Du Jiahao to pay a visit to Tatarstan. “We would be very glad if you visited our country to get familiar with our opportunities. This would be a good step in the development of Russian-Chinese relations in general and relations between Tatarstan and Hunan Province," R.Minnikhanov said.

Du Jiahao, in his turn, said that Hunan is one of the largest provinces in the southeastern part of China. Its GDP went up by 10 per cent last year and made 2.5 trillion yuan (500 billion US dollars), its population is 72 million people. The province is also known for its production of electronics, as well as the scientific and educational potential.

Du Jiahao noted that the Chinese leadership pays particular attention to cooperation with Russia. The leadership of Hunan Province, in its turn, intends to develop cooperation with Russian regions. Among the prospective areas of cooperation with Tatarstan the Governor called engineering and house-building industries.

This year, according to Du Jiahao, Vice Governor of Hunan Province will visit Tatartsan on the Chinese delegation.

Rustam Minnikhanov also noted that two regions have prospects for cooperation. "Your great potential in the IT field is of interest to us in view of the implementation of the Innopolis project,” Tatarstan President said.

"We are looking forward to seeing you and also willing to visit Hunan province," Rustam Minnikhanov summed up.