Rustam Minnikhanov: “The development of cooperation with China is one the priorities of our republic”

On June 23, speaking at a meeting of leaders of the regions of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Volga Federal District chaired by Presidential Envoy in Volga Federal District Michail Babich and Member of China's State Council Yang Jiechi in Samara, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said thatTatarstan is interested in active development of mutually beneficial cooperation with China’s regions.

The meeting was a follow-up on the Volga-Yangtze cooperation between regions situated in the Volga Federal District and the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River

Opening the third “Volga-Yangtze” meeting, Michail Babich noted that this event is the next step in the development of relations between Russia and Chine, which was declared at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit held in Shanghai in May with the participation of leaders of the two countries Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Michail Babich reminded that an agreement on cooperation between Tatarstan and the province of Hunan was signed at the summit.

He continued that “Volga-Yangtze” brings together distant regions of the two countries and having no common borders, which, however, is not an obstacle. "The new mechanism of cooperation has already shown its effectiveness. It opens up new opportunities for cooperation in various fields. The close cooperation has been organised, negotiations are well underway, and contacts are being established. We have great potential to develop trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, " Michail Babich said, speaking about the "Volga-Yangtze” meeting format.

Yang Jiechi, in his turn, also noted that today’s meeting is the next step in the implementation of agreements reached during the China-Russia summit in Shanghai. He supported Michail Babich’s proposals to expand cooperation in the "Volga Yangtze” format.

Leaders of the Chinese provinces and their Russian colleagues made reports on the current cooperation between the regions of China and Volga Federal District.

Speaking at the meeting, Rustam Minnikhanov told about the cooperation between Tatarstan and China.

"The development of cooperation with China is one of the top priorities of the international activities of our republic," he said.

Rustam Minnikhanov said that Chinese leaders and business delegations visited Tatarstan at different times. The visit of the Chinese delegation that took part in the International meeting of high-ranking officials responsible for security matters finished three days ago.

“I would like to note that the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Russia contributes greatly to our work", Rustam Minnikhanov said.

According to Tatarstan President, this year has been particularly successful in terms of the development of relations between Tatarstan and China. Thus, in April, headed the large Tatarstan delegation, Rustam Minnikhanov visited Urumqi, Beijing and Hong Kong. During the visit, a presentation of the republic was made in the Russian embassy in Beijing, agreements between the companies and chambers of commerce and industry were signed. In May, an agreement between Tatarstan and the province of Hunan was signed in the presence of the two leaders in Shanghai. Rustam Minnikhanov is sure that the agreement provides a good basis for expansion of mutually beneficial relations between the two regions in different areas.

Speaking about the future projects, Tatarstan President said that it is planned to implement the project on reconstruction and construction of electric power stations in Tatarstan together with the Chinese manufacturer of transformers and cables TBEA. In the field of engineering, it is intended to arrange the delivery of automotive components from Hunan to produce Myla cars at "Myla Motors" in Tatarstan, manufacture forklifts at a joint enterprise operated by SunWard (China) and OAO "YelAZ", produce cranes and cement mixers in SEZ "Alabuga".

Rustam Minnikhanov also said that an agreement to exchange visits was reached with the governor of the province of Hunan, and in early June Tatarstan delegation visited the province to discuss engineering matters.

Besides, Tatarstan cooperates with other Chinese provinces. This week, the delegations from the province of Anhui and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will visit the republic. "We look forward to developing mutually beneficial relationships with other Chinese provinces, whose leaders are present today at the meeting," Rustam Minnikhanov said.

Among the successful projects being impleneted with Chinese partners in the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov called the participation of CNCEC Chinese corporation in the construction of the Ammonium plant. A memorandum on the participation of the corporation in the construction of an olefin complex at "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" was signed last week. Moreover, Tatarstan is actively studying the Chinese experience in establishing special economic zones and industrial parks.

There are plans to open a representative office of Tatarstan in Beijing to promote the cooperation with China and resume direct flights between Kazan and cities of China, and construct the Europe - Western China corridor.

"We are interested in attracting Chinese students to our universities," Rustam Minnikhanov continued, adding that 320 Chinese students are studying at Kazan universities.

He also told about the benefits of Tatarstan for investors and innovative platforms.

Bilateral agreements on cooperation in trade, economic and humanitarian spheres were signed between the Volga regions and Chinese provinces at the end of the meeting.