China, Russia have great potential for mutual investment — Chinese expert

China and Russia have extremely great potential for increasing mutual investment and joint participation in multilateral economic projects, Liu Xu, deputy director of the Institute for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at Renmin University of China, told TASS.

"China and Russia have great potential in investments, many opportunities for development. Therefore, our countries should make joint efforts, further expand the openness of markets towards each other," he said.

Positive factors
As the expert noted, the Chinese-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership as a whole demonstrates sustainable growth, the effectiveness of cooperation between the two countries is constantly increasing in many areas. He recalled that Beijing and Moscow pay great attention to factors that contribute to strengthening mutual trust, as well as to ensure the security of the two countries.

"We have made significant progress in both the economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as in science and technology. Our cooperation is developing both in depth and in breadth," Liu Xu said.

The deputy head of the institute noted that Chinese-Russian cooperation maintains a "relatively stable pace," even despite the negative impact of the Ukrainian crisis.

"Cooperation between China and Russia is not subject to interference from third parties, although it faces major risks, which the governments of both countries are making great efforts to eliminate. In addition, we maintain frequent contacts - all this indicates a very positive trend, including with regard to investments," he added.

Mutual protection of capital investments
According to Liu Xu, based on the already formed factors for the successful promotion of joint projects, China and Russia should pay primary attention to provision of guarantees for investment capital. As the expert noted, first of all, it is necessary to take into account the difficult international situation, while simultaneously improving domestic conditions for business.

"In particular, this concerns tax policy - there is a lot of room for change and expansion of cooperation. This will allow us to overcome certain obstacles and even compensate for losses caused by international sanctions. As a result, with joint efforts, the investment sector will develop more actively," the expert said.

He noted that investment cooperation between China and Russia "must correspond to general global trends," cover both traditional areas, such as infrastructure construction and energy, and new areas in high-tech industries and modern medicine.

"These are very important areas for increasing investment in the future, but both countries need to continue relevant negotiations and open their markets to each other," he explained.

The expert pointed out the special importance of strengthening interpersonal and business contacts, as well as diplomatic ties. According to him, it is extremely necessary to improve efficiency in the field of labor force management, consistently pursue a policy of expanding the visa-free regime, primarily with the former republics of the Soviet Union.

"Simplifying the conditions for mutual travel will contribute to further growth of investments, but this will require additional efforts," Liu Xu stressed.

Cooperation must be expanded
As the expert specified, Chinese-Russian cooperation should not be limited to a bilateral format. He noted that when interacting on international platforms, China and Russia have opportunities for new effective models of cooperation, in particular in the field of global and regional governance.

Among the associations that are especially important for developing a new approach and strengthening coordination between China and Russia, Liu Xu named the UN, the Group of Twenty, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. He recalled that at the same time it is necessary to maintain a high level of mutual trust, pay close attention to security issues, and continue to conduct joint military exercises.

"We have potential in the area of investment. We must encourage them and eliminate all possible restrictions," the expert said.

According to Liu Xu, an important factor that Beijing and Moscow must constantly take into account is Western sanctions. He explained that the negative impact of these restrictions requires flexible coordination from China and Russia, as well as interaction that will ensure the interests of both parties to the maximum extent.

"This is a very important task for the future," the expert concluded.