RF, China have big potential for long-term cooperation - view.

BEIJING, November 3 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and China have a big
potential for the development of long-term economic and investment
cooperation, which has not been used fully as yet, Igor Rogachev, member
of Russia's Federation Council, head of the Centre for economic and
investment cooperation between Russia and China, told ITAR-TASS on
Wednesday following the centre's conference, which was organised in the
framework of the Second Chinese investment forum.
"No doubt that the mutual relations between Russia and China are of
colossal significance for the modern global policies and economy," he
said. "In the political and cultural spheres our countries are partners,
exercising a huge influence on world processes."
"However, the long-term economic and investment cooperation is below
the general level of relations between our countries," Rogachev said.
China ranks third among Russia's partners and first among countries of
the Asia-Pacific Region, but it is beyond Russia's top ten leading
partners as to the amount of investments.
China's total accumulated investments in Russia's economy slightly
exceeded two billion US dollars in 2009, which is 0.4 percent of all
foreign investments, Rogachev said. Though the investment cooperation of
the two countries remains quite low, certain positive changes have become
evident during recent years.
"Despite several big projects in deep processing of timber, in real
estate and construction, the growth of investment cooperation remains far
from satisfactory," he said. "The geography of Chinese companies'
investment activities in the Russian territory is not sufficient either."
The two countries lack mutual instruments for the development of
investments, which could favour the long-term investment and economic
cooperation of the two states. Rogachev gave as examples poorly developed
infrastructures of support of China's companies working in Russia, as well
as poorly developed banking systems and mutual national currencies
settlement schemes.
He also named the spheres, where cooperation might have developed more
rapidly and efficiently. They are aircraft building to design and produce
passenger and cargo planes as well as helicopters, especially heavy ones;
energy; satellite communications; navigation and others.
"The markets of China and Russia are of high capacity and many
products, especially in high technologies, are of mutual interest for
joint design and production," Rogachev said.
Experts of the Centre for economic and investment cooperation between
Russia and China say that as yet Chinese investors are mostly interested
in processing industry, though certain interest to high technology spheres
has become evident. For example, China's Huawei Technologies
telecommunications company working in Russia plans to invest about $80
million into projects to develop and design high technologies, including
those in the Skolkovo innovation centre.

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