Russia-China regional cooperation promising: official

Russia and China have maintained a good-neighborly relationship and their regional cooperation is rather promising, head of a Volga Federal District's republic has said.

"China has an immense market ... We can further cooperate in such fields as oil exploitation and technology renovation," acting President of the Bashkortostan republic Rustem Khamitov told Xinhua.

He recalled President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in May, when his republic, a major industrial and cultural center of Russia, signed a range of social-economic agreements with east China's Jiangxi Province.

"Bashkortostan and Jiangxi have set priorities for cooperation, including the construction of a trade center for Chinese goods in the republic," Khamitov said.

Five universities in Bashkortostan have signed cooperation agreements with Jiangxi's seven colleges, he added.

Apart from Jiangxi, the republic has maintained good ties with other Chinese provinces and municipalities, the official said, adding seven Chinese delegations have visited Bashkortostan this year.

The republic will also continue working with Chinese authorities to promote such joint projects as road construction, as well as chemical and mechanical manufacturing, Khamitov said.

Earlier this month, the two big neighbors held a forum in Russia's southwestern city of Samara on cooperation between regions along China's Yangtze river and the Volga river.

"Cooperation among those regions is being conducted in a steady way, which augurs a promising future," Khamitov, who attended the forum, told reporters.

Investments, especially those in infrastructure, are badly needed in Bashkortostan, a comparatively populous republic, the president said.

He called it an "undoubted glory and major responsibility" for Ufa, capital of the republic, to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS summits next summer.

The SCO is composed of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan while BRICS groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Noting the preparation work has been proceeding "as planned," Khamitov said the republic will explore investment potentials and adopt preferential policies for businesses.

"Our goal (of holding the summits) is not to be part of history, but to achieve substantial and sustainable economic development. We are expecting the exciting moments," he said.