Tatarstan and Heilongjiang to make a significant contribution to the development of Russian-Chinese relations

On June 17, during his working visit to the People’s Republic of China, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with Secretary of Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China Zhang Qingwei. 

Tatarstan President thanked Qingwei for the meeting and the hospitality provided.

During the meeting, the parties discussed Russian-Chinese cooperation, which has already 70-year history and strategic cooperation that has been developing in all areas in recent years. Last year, the Russian-Chinese trade turnover increased by 24.5 per cent and amounted to a record 108 billion US dollars, much of which is the result of cooperation with Heilongjiang Province.

Qingwei noted that during the recent meetings of the Presidents of our countries Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the parties reached agreement to double mutual trade turnover to 200 billion US dollars. According to them, this task will fall on the shoulders of the most economically developed regions of Russia and China, such as Tatarstan and Heilongjiang.

Minnikhanov also said that during last year's visit of Heilongjiang Province Governor Wang Wentao to Tatarstan, an Agreement on cooperation between the regions was signed, and today, in Harbin, the Road Map for its implementation was approved and the first steps on joint projects are being taken. Tatarstan President added that the regions have a good potential for the development of not only economic contacts, but cooperation in the sphere of education and science, culture and tourism. Today Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, is one of the leading Russian scientific and educational centers of the country. The Confucius Educational and Cultural Institute is open at Kazan Federal University and 1,132 Chinese students are studying at the universities of the republic.

At the end of the meeting, Minnikhanov expressed confidence that today's meetings will certainly give impetus to further cooperation of Tatarstan with the Heilongjiang Province and invited Qingwei to visit Kazan at the head of the business delegation.