Business news from Ukraine

TIME FOR KYIV, BEIJING TO CREATE FREE TRADE AREA BETWEEN UKRAINE AND CHINA – DIPLOMAT

29 April , 2016  

KYIV. April 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation should be planned at the strategic level, and it is time for Kyiv and Beijing to start a dialog on the creation of a free trade area between the countries, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Zhang Xiyun has said.

“We should plan cooperation at the strategic level. This is how I see the work of the bilateral intergovernmental commission,” the Chinese diplomat said at a panel discussion devoted to Ukraine’s prospects in participating in the new strategy of the Chinese government “Silk Road economic belt” as part of Second National Export Support Forum in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said that today Ukraine and China have different economies and the governments should create and change the conditions for business aimed at concrete final outcome.

“I would like to bring up good [bilateral] economic projects created not under government directives, but businessmen,” he said, adding that the facilitations of tax and customs procedures is the work of the government.

Xiyun expressed confidence that there is a large potential of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation: according to the Chinese customs authorities, goods turnover between the countries in 2015 totaled USD 7.07 billion, and this was 17.6% down on 2014. China’s share of Ukrainian foreign trade is 8.2%, and Ukraine’s share of Chinese foreign trade is only 0.18%, he said.

The diplomat said that today China is second largest trade partner of Ukraine, and Chinese investment portfolio in Ukraine as of late 2015 reached USD 1 trillion.

“In 2015 USD 100 billion was invested in the [global economy] in the form of credits,” he said.

“Chinese investors are still confident in the Ukrainian market. No investor in the past two or three years left [Ukraine]. No agreement was terminated. They [projects] are live, but I want them to be actively performed,” he said.

“Ukraine is a favorable geographic location: in the center of Europe. The country’s special asset is intellectual resource. One should think what the situation will be in ten, twenty and thirty years,” he said.