RAUIE and Moscow Government have been developing Russian - Chinese cooperation

China has increased investments in Moscow's economy by 1.7 times in five years. The growth of investment and business activity is also associated with the support measures that the city provides to investors who have localized their production in the capital. This was announced by Vladimir Efimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations.

«Moscow and China have strong business ties. Thus, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as of October 1, 2021, the accumulated volume of investments from China to the capital of Russia is $912 million, of which $644 million is accounted for by participation in the capital of Moscow enterprises. Chinese business investments have grown by 1.7 times over five years, and for the reporting six months – from April to September 2021 – by 3.9 percent. The trade turnover between Moscow and China is also growing: in 2021 it amounted to $64.47 billion, which is 33.9 percent more than a year earlier, » - Vladimir Efimov said.

At the conference held in Moscow, support measures and the continued cooperation in the field of investments were discussed. The event was organized by the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RAUIE), the Moscow Department of Investment and Industrial Policy, the Moscow Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations, as well as the Moscow City Investment Agency.

Moscow's exports to China in 2021 amounted to $30.37 billion. This is 14.7 percent of the capital's total exports. The increase by 2020 was 43.5 percent. Imports exceeded $34 billion, which is 26.4 percent more than a year earlier.

In the near future, an important impetus for the development of trade between Moscow and China will be the arrival of Chinese investors in the special economic zone of the capital, said the President of the RAUIE Vitaly Mankevich at the event. According to him, after the departure of several Western companies from the Russian market, there is a high interest in the SEZ from the Chinese business community, including large companies that are focused on working on projects guaranteed by the state and offering special conditions.

«The capital of Russia has great potential for localization of Chinese business. To attract investments, including foreign ones, Moscow develops innovative infrastructure, offers sites for the placement of enterprises, uses various forms of public-private partnership. Entrepreneurs from China who wish to localize production in the capital can do it in a special economic zone — technopolis “Moscow". The SEZ has a free customs zone regime: all imported goods and equipment are exempt from customs taxes and fees», - said Vladislav Ovchinsky, head of the capital's Department of Investment and Industrial Policy.

He added that the residents of the SEZ can significantly reduce the regional tax burden: zero payments on property tax and transport tax. A moratorium on the indexation of rental rates has been adopted as a measure to support business in the face of sanctions.

The capital uses the offset contract mechanism to localize production. It involves the supply of goods and counter investment commitments of the supplier - the creation or modernization of production in the city. Today, five such contracts have been signed with a total investment of 12.9 billion rubles. In the near future, the capital will extend the practice of using offsets to all spheres of urban economy. It is also planned to reduce the threshold for investments in the creation or modernization of production from one billion rubles to 100 million rubles.

«Despite all the difficulties of recent years, China and Russia have achieved new breakthroughs in project cooperation. Strategic large projects in the energy sector, nuclear energy, aviation, space, infrastructure and other areas are steadily developing. Last year the construction of four units of the Tianwan and Xudapu nuclear power plants began, the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk automobile bridge and the Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge are expected to open. The spheres of cooperation continue to expand. And what is also important, interregional integration is deepening. Moscow is ready to cooperate with China and has achieved significant results in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, culture and tourism», - said Yu Hongchi, adviser to the Chinese Embassy in Russia.

On the territory of Moscow, companies conduct distribution, commercial and research activities with the participation of Chinese equity. They are represented in such industries as construction, energy, chemical industry, production of passenger cars and motor vehicles, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment, mobile and fixed terminals.

For example, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund (RCIF) have agreed with the Chinese company Tus-Holdings to jointly build a science and technology park on the territory of the Technological Valley of Moscow State University. The agreement is aimed at developing the research infrastructure within the framework of the strategy implemented by RDIF and RCIF for the development of innovations between the markets of Russia and China. In addition, Tus-Holdings joins a consortium of investors formed by RDIF and RCIF to invest in the project of creating a scientific and technological park and integrated development of the territory of the former Tushino airfield in the north-west of Moscow.

Recording of video-speech: https://disk.yandex.ru/i/Yir7GoVAJJdifg

Speakers’ materials: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/8m8dVUQZGVt2yA