Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum from Sept. 11 to 13 in the city of Vladivostok, Russia, at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. It will be the first time for a Chinese head of state to attend the event.
The forum draws attention from the international community who projects high expectation for the event to achieve fruitful results.
They, first of all, expect more results on the new development plan of the Far East region, the largest federal district of Russia which covers 36.1 percent of the country’s territory.
The Russian government is attaching more and more importance to the Far East region and giving priority to its development in recent years. For example, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East has been established to ensure the development of the district on a national level.
Thanks to the strong support of the Russian government, the Far East maintained steadily economic growth in recent years, becoming a region with the fastest growing investment across the country.
They also eye for new fruits from China-Russia relations. China and Russia have made remarkable achievements in bilateral relations this year.
Heads of state of the two countries have kept close exchange with each other. Putin paid his first state visit to China this June after beginning his new term in office, during which Xi conferred on him China’s first Friendship Medal. This July, Xi made in-depth exchange with Putin during the BRICS summit, their second meeting this year.
Xi’s attendance to the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum will be the third meeting in 2018. His trip this time is believed to create better conditions and friendly atmosphere for in-depth exchange of views between the two heads of state, elevating bilateral relations onto a new level.
Another highlight would be the boosted cooperation between China’s northeast region and Russia’s Far East, which adjoin each other, have distinctive advantages for cooperation, setting a model for regional cooperation between the two countries.
China has become the largest partner and source of foreign investment for the Far East after years of development. It has participated in dozens of leap-forward development zones and free ports of the Far East and implemented over half of the investment projects of the district.
Development of Russia’s Far East is also beneficial to China’s northeast region. Currently, the two regions have scored rich results from comprehensive cooperation in such fields as connectivity, finance, agriculture and energy.
New opportunities of regional cooperation will also be a highlight. The Russian Far East is a part of Northeast Asia, and regional countries including China, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia have been actively engaged in its construction and development.
These countries, adjacent to each other, have huge market and cooperation potential, as they are rich in resources and highly complementary in economic structure. Leaders of these countries will gather at the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum to advance cooperation.
Under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, these countries have expressed stronger desire to dock their development strategies, such as South Korea’s New Northern Policy and Mongolia’s Prairie Road Development initiative.
It is believed that the cooperation among the countries in the region will make greater contributions to pushing for open global economy and add more power to regional development.
(By Ou Yi, an international affairs observer)
Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition
东方经济论坛的四大看点
欧 诣
9月11日至13日，第四届东方经济论坛将在俄罗斯远东城市符拉迪沃斯托克举行。应俄罗斯总统普京邀请，中国国家主席习近平将出席论坛，这将是中国国家元首首次出席东方经济论坛。
世界的目光聚焦本届论坛，对论坛取得丰硕成果有了更多展望和期待：
一看远东地区新发展。远东联邦区是俄罗斯面积最大的联邦区，占全俄总面积的36.1%。近年来，俄罗斯政府对远东地区重视程度不断提升，将远东开发视为国家发展的优先方向，组建远东发展部等机构，从国家层面保障远东地区发展。在俄政府的大力支持下，近年来远东地区经济向好发展，成为俄投资增长最快的地区。
二看中俄关系新成果。今年以来的中俄关系可圈可点。两国元首继续保持密切交往，普京总统6月对中国进行新任期内首次国事访问，习近平主席向普京总统授予中国首枚“友谊勋章”。7月金砖国家领导人会晤期间，习近平主席同普京总统举行年内第二次会晤，继续深入交流。习近平主席应邀出席东方经济论坛，将同普京总统举行年内第三次会晤。这次在俄本土举行的会晤必将为两国元首深入交流提供更加便利的条件和良好氛围，推动中俄关系更上层楼，取得新成果。
三看“东北－远东”合作新气象。远东地区与中国东北地区毗邻，双方合作占据天时、地利、人和的优势，成为中俄两国地方合作的“排头兵”。经过多年发展，中方已成为俄远东地区最大合作伙伴和外资来源国，中方参与远东跨越式发展区和自由港项目几十个，远东地区一半以上的投资项目由中方实施。
远东的发展振兴对中国东北来说也是一大利好，目前双方在互联互通、金融、农业、能源等领域的诸多合作项目已全面铺开，合作成果丰硕。
四看区域合作新机遇。俄罗斯远东地区是东北亚地区的组成部分。近年来，中国、韩国、日本、蒙古国等地区国家均积极参与俄远东地区发展建设。今年的东方经济论坛，上述国家领导人将齐聚远东，共谋合作。东北亚地区国家相互毗邻，资源丰富，经济结构互补性强，市场广阔，合作潜力巨大。在中方“一带一路”建设与欧亚经济联盟对接的良好示范下，各方对接发展战略的意愿进一步增强，韩国的“新北方政策”、蒙古国的“发展之路”等都可以在本地区更加积极地开展对接合作，为推动开放型世界经济作出更大贡献，也为地区发展增添更多新动能。
（作者为国际问题观察员）
来源：人民日报海外版