China, Ukraine seek closer economic ties

Ukraine attaches great importance to its long-term economic cooperation with China, and the two countries have opportunities for pushing the partnership forward given the complementary advantages of each others' economies, a Ukraine official said on Tuesday.

Oleksandr Serdechnyi, first secretary of the embassy of Ukraine to China, made the remarks at a news conference, saying the China-Ukraine Economic and Trade Forum held last year made great achievements and he hopes the forum, to be held May 29 and 30 in Kiev this year, can further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

"China for us is a strategically important market and a source of investment, and we have made great cooperation on infrastructure construction in recent years," he said. "Ukraine welcomes Chinese enterprises to make an on-the-spot investigation in Kiev."

Cooperation between China and Ukraine saw progress last year, with the two sides signing an action plan on jointly developing the Belt and Road Initiative.

President Xi said China would like to boost political trust with Ukraine, and the two countries could enhance cooperation in areas including education, health, sports, culture and tourism at a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during the annual meeting of the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland in 2017.

Wang Guotai, a senior official from the State Council Information Office, said the talk between the heads of the two countries has laid a solid foundation for Chinese enterprises to enhance bilateral cooperation, especially in infrastructure construction.

China Machinery Engineering Corporation signed a contract with Ukraine's largest private energy holding Donbas Fuel and Energy Company on April 6 to build a solar power plant in Ukraine.

Under the deal, the CMEC will build a solar power plant with a total capacity of 200 megawatts in Nikopol city in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region.

On March 14, Beijing-based China Harbor Engineering Company won the tender for a dredging project at Ukraine's Black Sea port of Chornomorsk. The Chinese company has completed the first stage of the dredging project three months ahead of schedule, at the Black Sea port of Yuzhny in Ukraine's southern Odessa region.

Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority head Rayvis Veckagans said, "The CHEC has already proved itself a reliable partner with the dredging project at Yuzhny."

Ukraine formally joined the Silk Road project in 2015, launching a train to China via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Wang emphasized Ukraine is the first European country to approve and get involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

He Zhenwei, secretary-general of the China Overseas Development Association, said the trade forum plans to invite Ukraine's former presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma to attend and interpret the latest China-Ukraine investment cooperation policy.