MOSCOW, May 31 (Xinhua) — Economic cooperation between Russia and China will intensify in the near future. Such confidence in an interview with corr. Xinhua expressed the chairman of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs / RAUIE / Vitaly Mankevich. He summed up the recent trip of the Russian delegation headed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to China.

“There is every reason to believe that economic interaction and cooperation between our countries will intensify in the near future. This is encouraging, since the level of economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and China is significantly inferior to the level of political interaction,” he said.

According to the head of the RAUIE, during M. Mishustin’s visit to China, which took place on May 23-24, it was nice to see that the authorities of both countries do not forget about such an important task as further work to strengthen the independence of bilateral financial cooperation. “That is, there is reason to hope that soon the business will receive a secure mechanism for mutual payments mainly in national currencies,” he said.

V. Mankevich also drew attention to M. Mishustin’s proposal to Chinese partners to combine resources to create competitive and affordable goods, primarily through industrial and technological cooperation. “New contracts for the supply of energy resources are, of course, good, but it’s high time to reach a new level,” the head of the RAUIE is sure.

In addition, the most promising areas of cooperation were outlined: shipbuilding, the production of civilian drones, the timber industry, personnel training, trade in agricultural products, the activation of air traffic and the use of the potential of the Northern Sea Route. “The project of creating a Russian-Chinese priority development territory stands apart. As planned, the Chinese side was presented with all the advantages of cooperation,” V. Mankevich explained.

The head of the RAUIE stressed that during the visit there was a place for political statements. He recalled the words of M. Mishustin that the Russian Federation and the PRC together oppose the attempts of the collective West to maintain global dominance, to use illegal sanctions to impose their will on independent states.

Speaking about the results of the visit, V. Mankevich pointed to the intention of both countries to intensify the work of the mechanism of regular meetings of the heads of government of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. This mechanism brings together five intergovernmental commissions at the level of vice-premiers and more than 80 sectoral working groups. “For business, this means that the authorities intend to regularly ‘synchronize the clock’ in order to respond to changes in a timely and effective manner,” he added.

According to the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, in contrast to the meetings of the heads of state, which traditionally form strategic signals and directions, the prime ministers are focused on practical work. This was evidenced by the signing of a number of bilateral agreements, including in the sphere of trade in services, sports, patents, and grain exports. “The visit is over, it’s time to start implementing the agreements,” V. Mankevich concluded.

WtR