Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BISHKEK, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — The Eurasian region notes that the alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) meets the requirements of the times, demonstrates the consistency of the concepts of cooperation between China and Eurasian countries, and creates valuable opportunities for regional development.
“Russia, as a member state of the EAEU, together with its colleagues in the union, is interacting with China within the framework of the alignment of the EAEU development plans and the Chinese Belt and Road initiative. The goal is to take this process to a new level of implementing joint projects,” said Alexey Fadeyev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, at a recent briefing, answering a question from a Xinhua correspondent.
Senior expert of the Armenian analytical center Orbeli Johnny Melikyan positively assessed the current interaction of the EAEU and the Belt and Road initiative, saying that it has already entered the stage of practical implementation of joint infrastructure, transport and digital projects. “Coordinated work on market integration, in particular in the field of forming common markets for gas, oil and oil products, as well as digitalization of freight rail transportation, is directly linked to the Chinese initiative, creating conditions for the growth of trade flows and increasing mutual competitiveness,” he added.
From 14 to 15 August, a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata. Attention was paid to such issues as strengthening the economic potential of the EAEU countries, improving the standard of living of the population, developing mutual trade, eliminating obstacles in the union market, etc.
“Speaking about the results of the integration of the EAEU and the Belt and Road, the most important thing is the improvement of the quality of life of our citizens,” said the rector of the Belarusian State Economic University Alexei Egorov in an interview with Xinhua. “We see the results of the colossal improvement of China’s economic system. This model should be studied and adapted to the conditions of the Eurasian space.”
“The comprehensive development of trade and economic relations with the People’s Republic of China is one of the priorities of the trade policy of the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states,” the Eurasian Economic Commission said in response to a question from a Xinhua correspondent. “A promising direction could also be the alignment of strategic documents of the EAEU and China on issues of mutual interest, including in such areas as transport, logistics, and digitalization.”
There is now a common understanding of the need to create a high-quality connectivity architecture using the convergence of the Belt and Road Initiative and the EAEU to give further impetus to regional development.
“We view the link between the Belt and Road initiative and the EAEU as an important component of the strategic partnership between our countries,” A. Fadeyev emphasized, adding that the Chinese Belt and Road initiative is in line with Russian ideas for creating an open integration circuit on the Eurasian continent, where freedom of trade and movement of labor would be fully ensured and modern infrastructure would be established.
According to Kyrgyz economist Iskender Sharsheev, the benefits of linking the Belt and Road Initiative and the EAEU for the countries of the union are obvious: it is an opportunity to strengthen their role as a transit hub, increase the diversification of sales markets and expand the space for technological cooperation. “In practice, it has accelerated land corridors from China to Europe across Eurasia, given impetus to container and refrigerated logistics, and made border crossings more predictable,” the expert added. –0–
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