On May 16, Russia and China signed a unified concept for the development of Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island.
"Under the agreement, a border crossing, transport and logistic, recreational and tourist facilities will be established there. Now we are preparing a road map with concrete dates, it will be finalized and adopted by the end of the year. And in the next three years the border crossing should be built, it will be put into operation," the minister said.
The May agreement on the joint development of the island is a great achievement and the result of 20 years of work, Chekunkov added.
"For 20 years we could not find a joint view on how to develop Bolshoy Ussuriysky, [but] finally we found it. This is an opportunity for China’s residents to easily come to Khabarovsk, and for Khabarovsk residents to easily come to China, buy duty-free goods, enjoy business opportunities. Another border crossing between Russia and China is an important issue," the minister told the agency.
A Chinese company is starting to build an educational center in a prospective satellite city of Russia's Vladivostok that will prepare Chinese applicants for admission to Russian universities, Chekunkov added.
"It's a pretty big project with an investment of 5 million rubles [$56,070]. Two thousand people will study there permanently, it is valuable for us as it is an export of educational services," the minister said.
The Russian city of St. Petersburg is hosting the 27th edition of SPIEF from June 5-8. Last year, the forum drew 17,000 participants from 130 countries and saw the signing of more than 900 agreements.