China to set up $15b fund for joint projects with Russia

VLADIVOSTOK - China is working for the establishment of an investment fund worth 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) to finance regional cooperation projects between China and Russia, Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang said on Thursday.

China is ready to increase the scale of the investment fund and suggest the Silk Road Fund finance China-Russia joint programs, Wang said in a speech at a commercial conversation on the sidelines of the Third Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a major Pacific port city in Russia.

He said the Chinese government encourages enterprises to invest in Russia's Far East and expand cooperation in manufacturing, resources exploitation, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism.

China will work to further facilitate trade and ask its companies to abide by Russian laws and regulations, while it hopes the Russian side will implement its preferential policies and safeguard the lawful interests of Chinese enterprises, Wang said.

He said China is an ideal partner of Russia in its Far Eastern development and both sides can together explore vast opportunities.

According to the vice-premier, the two countries have mutual political trust and the two economies are complementary and their development strategies dovetail with each other.

China is the biggest import source and second largest export destination for Russia's Far Eastern Federal District and Chinese enterprises have invested in 26 projects in this region so far.