Russia vital for Chinese enterprises "going global": Chinese vice president

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (C) visits the Baltic Pearl project, invested by enterprises from Shanghai of China in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 22, 2010. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said on Monday that Russia is a vital market for the "going global" strategy of Chinese enterprises, and expressed hope that mutually-beneficial economic cooperation could help consolidate bilateral ties and strategic partnership. "Chinese enterprises should step up efforts to go global ... and Russia is a vital market for the implementation of our 'going global' strategy," said Xi while inspecting a Sino-Russian joint project, the Baltic Pearl, in Russia's northern metropolis St. Petersburg. With a total investment of over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, the large commercial, real estate and tourism project involved several leading enterprises from east China's Shanghai Municipality, the St. Petersburg municipal government and the Export-Import Bank of China. It was launched in 2006. The Baltic Pearl is one of the "exemplary projects" for Chinese investment in Russia, and has received strong support from local and central governments in both countries, Xi noted. "I hope you show dedication and innovation in the implementation of the Baltic Pearl project, so as to blaze a new trail for more Chinese enterprises to come and invest in Russia," Xi told representatives of Chinese businesses involved in the project on the site. The vice president said that it is the Chinese government's unswerving policy to encourage more domestic enterprises to go overseas for investment and cooperation, by means of production capacity transfer, mergers and acquisitions, joint resources development, and project contracting. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (C) visits the Baltic Pearl project, invested by enterprises from Shanghai of China in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 22, 2010. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Chinese enterprises should contribute to China's economic restructuring and transformation of growth patterns through the " going global" strategy, which means a better use of both domestic and overseas markets and resources, he said. On the current China-Russia relations, Xi said they are mature, stable and sound, with political mutual trust between the two sides reaching an unprecedented high level. "In safeguarding the Sino-Russian relations, a key issue is to adhere to mutually-beneficial and win-win cooperation and consolidate the economic foundation of such relations," he stressed, adding that it's of particular importance to balance " take" and "give," and give full consideration to the interests of the Russian side in any cooperative projects. He urged Chinese developers of the Baltic Pearl project to further strengthen communication and consultation with St. Petersburg authorities, and establish a sound public image for themselves and the Chinese nation as a whole. He expressed the belief that the Baltic Pearl, as wished by Chinese President Hu Jintao during an earlier inspection tour of the project, would end up as "a first-grade project, a strategic platform and a prototype of cooperation." Xi, who arrived in Russia on Saturday, is on a four-nation European tour which will also take him to Belarus, Finland and Sweden. Source: Xinhua