Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
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
Birobidzhan, Russia, December 14, Xinhua — Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR) sees key opportunities for cooperation with China in transportation and logistics, mining and metallurgy, agriculture, and tourism. JAR Governor Maria Kostyuk stated this in a recent interview with Xinhua.
"Four pillars are very important to us: logistics, of course, tourism, the mining and metallurgy industries (we're currently creating our own metallurgy cluster), and, of course, agriculture," she noted.
As the Governor emphasized, the Jewish Autonomous Region shares a more than 550-kilometer border with China, with four border crossings, including the first international railway bridge, the Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye Bridge. The world's largest railway, the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Chita-Khabarovsk federal highway pass through the region. All this makes the region an important international transport and logistics corridor. "That is, everything passes through us, and not developing logistics centers on our territory would simply be unfair," the Governor noted, adding that developing the bridgehead area is currently a key priority.
Speaking about the development of the mining industry, M. Kostyuk pointed to the Jewish Autonomous Region's wealth of mineral resources. According to her, the Kuldursky Brucite Mine and the Kimkano-Sutarsky Mining and Processing Plant are already collaborating with China, and they plan to further expand this collaboration. "We're not resting on our laurels. We're talking about how we now have virtually the entire periodic table in the Jewish Autonomous Region. We're working to create an entire metallurgical cluster," the Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region shared her plans, noting the strong interest in the project from Chinese partners.
She also spoke about joint agricultural projects with China. During the Eastern Economic Forum, which took place in Vladivostok in September, the government of the Jewish Autonomous Region and an agricultural company from Dandong, Liaoning Province (northeastern China) signed an agreement to build greenhouses for growing strawberries in the region. Furthermore, Chinese investors plan to open an oil extraction plant in the Jewish Autonomous Region. "They have already registered enterprises in the Jewish Autonomous Region. Today, the Jewish Autonomous Region is an example of joint efforts to attract investment and create joint ventures. This is an example of partnership and a responsible approach," M. Kostyuk emphasized.
According to a Xinhua source, the Jewish Autonomous Region places great emphasis on developing cultural, educational, tourist, and sports exchanges with China, including with the neighboring province of Heilongjiang (northeastern China). "This year marks the 15th anniversary of the cooperation agreement between the Jewish Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang. And for us, this is a source of pride, as many joint activities, particularly humanitarian missions, have been implemented over these years," she said.
M. Kostyuk is confident that the Jewish Autonomous Region's interaction with its Chinese partners will only intensify in the future, as it benefits the peoples of Russia and China. "We have good-neighborly relations, we conduct mutual exchanges, conduct business missions, and we are creating joint industrial enterprises and production facilities. This is such close contact with China. Therefore, speaking about the future, I believe that integration will only strengthen," the Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region concluded.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.