The press service of the Khabarovsk Territory's government told RIA Novosti that German Gref, Russia's economic development and trade minister, is leading the Russian delegation at the forum.
The Russian delegation will also include the plenipotentiary of the Russian president in the Far East, Konstantin Pulikovsky, and representatives of Russia's subjects in the Far East, Russian parliament, and other ministries and departments.
The Chinese delegation will include Chairman of the State Committee for Development and Reforms Ma Kai, his deputy, Jing Weixin, the heads of regional and industrial enterprises and representatives of ministries and government departments.
According to the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, in 2003, trade between Russia and China reached a new level, nearly $2 billion (a 34% increase from 2002). Russia's exports to China amounted to about $1.5 billion (75% of the entire trade), and Russia's imports amounted to $491 million (a 16% increase from 2002).
The Russian Far East's contribution to Russian-Chinese trade has grown every year and reached 12% in 2003, including 15% in exports and 8% in imports.
"Russian-Chinese relations are characterized by a stable and dynamic development, a stable legal base, a ramified organizational structure and active relations at every level," Mr. Pulikovsky said in an interview with the local press. "More than 100 bilateral agreements have been signed between administrative and territorial authorities at different levels."
In Mr. Pulikovsky's opinion, the relations should not be limited to trade. "Investment cooperation, aimed at establishing joint production units to jointly process and subsequently sell natural resources, implementing transportation infrastructure and power industry projects and extraction and transportation of oil, gas and coal must be the top priority," he said.
The first Russian-Chinese investment forum in Khabarovsk marks the beginning of a new stage in relations between the two countries - the development of investment cooperation, said Mr. Gref to the forum.
He stressed that the leaders of Russia and China had set the goal of increasing foreign trade between the two countries to $20 billion in 2005. Mr. Gref said that based on the current rates, the goal was realistic.
The economic development minister added that now it is necessary to develop cooperation not only in the traditional sectors - processing of raw-material resources but also in machine-building and the high technologies sphere. As he said, it is necessary to create joint information space and mechanisms for implementing joint projects.
Mr. Ma said that China proposed focusing on several priorities in investment cooperation - mutual trust, general mutually advantageous development, investment objectivity and protection of businesses.
He reiterated his Russian counterpart that cooperation in the hi-tech sphere and industry was necessary. He also mentioned a number of concrete investment projects in the Far East that interested China.
Mr. Ma said that the projects involved extracting fossil fuels on Sakhalin, Khabarovsk, Maritime Territory and the Amur and Chita Regions. The projects also include the construction of a pipeline in Siberia and the Far East.
Mr. Ma called on Russia to more actively participate in the development of investment projects in China, especially in the nuclear and hydraulic power industry.
According to him, 12 contracts with a total value of over $700 million are expected to be signed during the forum.
He stressed that the total value of Russian-Chinese investment cooperation was now $500 million. The current forum is a breakthrough in the development of Russian-Chinese economic relations, Mr. Ma noted.
Mr. Gref said that the first stone was laid for the construction of a common Russian-Chinese investment house in Khabarovsk. He noted that Russia's government would continue to pursue a preferential policy in the development of the Far East. Large amounts of money will be invested in the region, especially in the development of the region's infrastructure.
Mr. Gref said that he hoped the law on economic zones, which will be placed in the Far East, would be adopted before the end of this year. These zones will create a favorable system for attracting foreign investments, including Chinese investments.
Viktor Ishayev, the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory and the head of the Russian National Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation, said that he was pleased with stable development of Russian-Chinese relations.
"Russian-Chinese relations have entered the trajectory of stable progressive development," the governor, who is participating in the forum, said in the interview with RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
He said that 500 people were participating in the forum.
Mr. Ishayev noted that since 1992, Russia and China have signed more than 180 interstate and inter-government documents. He also said that as many as eight government sub-commissions, 25 permanent groups in the economic and scientific and technical spheres, and five sub-commissions in the public and humanitarian spheres of cooperation have been set up. Agreements on trade and economic cooperation between nine Russian and nine Chinese regions have been signed.
The conference closes on June 10, and at the end a number of joint documents are planned to be signed..
