The Far East is waiting for Chinese investment in industry and transport. Official website of the Ministry Russian Federation on the development of the Far East on April 5 announced that the Chinese side came up with an initiative to transfer to the territory of the Far Eastern regions a number of its enterprises in such industries as: metallurgy, construction and cement production, energy, engineering, shipbuilding, chemical and textile industries, telecommunications and agriculture economy.

At the meeting of the directors of the departments of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the State Committee for Development of the Russian Far East, Rustam Makarov and Zhou Jianping, a document was signed on the creation of a mechanism for regular consultations and information exchange in the field of investment cooperation. The issues of attracting state and private Chinese investments to the regions of the Far East were discussed.

“We are ready to accept Chinese enterprises and create joint export-oriented production facilities in the Far East”- Rustam Makarov said after the meeting.

“I am confident that through joint efforts we will be able to achieve results in the shortest possible time”- said his Chinese colleague.

Plans for the creation of international transport corridors in the south of Primorsky Krai were also widely discussed at the meeting. To this end, it was decided to hold a meeting in the near future with the involvement of leading companies from China and Russia engaged in the transport sector.

An agreement on cooperation between the departments was reached during the visit of the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East Alexander Galushka to Beijing and was recorded in the Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening Russian-Chinese regional, industrial and investment cooperation in the Far East.

Is it good for us? Attracting investments, creating new industries and, as a result, jobs are, of course, profitable. And then the question is how it will be implemented.

Immediately after the news was published on the site, there were reports in various media and blogs that China was seizing the Far East, moving harmful industries to us and Chinese workers would work there. I will quote the explanations for the media from the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East:

Interaction of the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East with the State Committee for Development of the Russian Far East of China is based on mutual understanding on the following issues: 100% compliance with Russian legislation, at least 80% - the Russian workforce, the unconditional priority of Russian suppliers and contractors.

“Russian environmental legislation is one of the most stringent in the world,” stressed Rustam Makarov. - No project that does not comply with environmental standards can be implemented by definition. Dirty industries do not and cannot have a place in the Far East.”

Until recently, we gathered in Europe and adopted all the very high European standards in the field of ecology, which is certainly good. In China, environmental legislation is much softer.

Why does China need it? I will refer to the article by the expert of the "Experimental Creative Center" Yuri Byaly " economic war China" published in the newspaper "The Essence of Time" on December 9, 2015.

"Another one a big problem China - huge, created in recent years, "fat" for the economy, unused or underutilized capacities for infrastructure, industrial, office and housing construction. Which, again, were created counting on an increase in demand in the domestic and global markets and on the previous high rates of economic growth.

In recent years, the domestic market of the country has developed very rapidly, in parallel with the growth of household incomes, and indeed, from the point of view of the economy, it has largely replaced export earnings. That is, the Chinese economy has become much less export-oriented. Nevertheless, the surplus capacities of the industry, created for the future, are not able to use the internal segment of the economy in a crisis.

China has recently been used as a "support" for economic development very actively develops the service sector. And it is already getting very serious results in this direction. However, again, the service sector cannot use a significant part of the country's excess industrial capacity in any way.

As a result, domestic investment in productive assets has been steadily falling.

Previously, before the start of the current wave of the global crisis, the annual growth rate of capital investment reached 50%, and the growth of infrastructure investment exceeded 64% per year! And then the growth rate of capital investment began to decline, and in the last three years they have been declining steadily and quite quickly.

But once capital investment falls, the demand for all industrial raw materials will inevitably fall at the same time. And, accordingly, on the products of the primary sectors of the economy, which are also experiencing an ever deeper impact of the crisis.

As a result, the only way to make full use of the accumulated “surplus” Chinese financial resources, as well as production and raw materials capacities, is external expansion with foreign direct investment, as well as industrial and infrastructure projects.”

Here we see the implementation in practice of what the expert is talking about. Already planning to transfer unused production capacity, as well as to implement large-scale transport projects. And Chinese business is very interested in this. Although the official ideology in the PRC is communist, they live economically according to Western standards, which means that a factory built and not working is money invested and not profitable. Investments are invested in most cases borrowed:

“The next economic problem in China is the huge volume of domestic and foreign loans taken by Chinese corporations. These loans were taken in anticipation of the global economy's recovery from the crisis and further growth in exports and domestic consumption. Unfortunately, there was no way out of the crisis, but credit debts remained. Moreover, most of the loans (and, accordingly, debts) were actually hidden from control, since they went through “shadow” banking.

As a result, China has a very large total external and domestic debt, mostly accumulated by corporations. According to various estimates, differing in "estimations" of the share of "shadow banking" in loans, this debt ranges from 3 to 5 trillion dollars, some analysts say almost $12 trillion. But even this is relatively small by world standards: most European countries have a significantly higher debt-to-GDP ratio than China. However, such a debt, taking into account its reliably unknown "shadow" component, calls into question the economic the stability of many, including large corporations and banks ».

In addition to ecology, the next topic for criticism can be reduced to the assertion that we are selling the Far East to the Chinese. They will bring their workers there, since ours are much more expensive. Again, I quote from the article:

“As a result of recent decades of rapid growth, the Chinese economy has provided an incredibly high rate of improvement in the well-being of a very large segment of the population.

As we can see, average wages in China have grown 3 times over the decade, and taking into account the appreciation of the yuan, 4 times. And in terms of dollars, they exceeded $ 800 per month - a very solid level for any developing country.

Solid is not the right word, it turns out that the average salary in China at a dollar exchange rate of 68 rubles is 54,400 rubles. Let's compare it with Russian salaries. The website "Business Life" reports that the average salary in the regions of Russia in 2015 amounted to (thousand rubles):

Primorsky Krai 30.9
Khabarovsk Territory 32.0
Amur Region 31.4

For an example from our Southern Federal District:

Krasnodar Territory 23.5
Astrakhan region 24.9
Volgograd region 21.5
Rostov region 21.2

We can no longer talk about any "high cost" of the domestic labor force. At least until oil costs more than $ 100, and not a single gypsy will tell you this.

More and more Chinese companies are becoming residents of priority development areas and the free port of Vladivostok. Currently, 24 projects with a total investment of $3.35 billion are at various stages of implementation, 21 of which are in the Primorsky Territory. Over the past two years, the People's Republic of China has become the record holder in terms of the number of investments in the economy of the Far East among the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).

In total, 29 companies with Chinese investments have become residents of the ASEZ and FPV in the Far East. They invest in the creation of processing industries, in the agro-industrial sector and the development of aquaculture, in the construction of residential and commercial real estate, in the energy sector and in transport and logistics projects.

Areas of interest

The first resident with Chinese investment launched production at the end of last year. The Yubo-Sumotori company, together with the manufacturer of heavy-duty equipment FAW, used the FPV mode to create an assembly plant in Artyom. Investments, first of all, amounted to 28 million rubles .

The first dump trucks were purchased by coastal companies operating in the coal and construction industries. In the future, the manufacturer intends to expand the sales market to Siberia, the Urals and other regions of the country.

Previously, such equipment was purchased abroad. The free port mode helped us to localize the assembly in Primorye. In the first quarter, we produced more than 30 trucks, plans for the current year - from 350 to 500 units, in 2019 - 2,000 trucks. Now we employ about 30 people, at the second stage the number of jobs will increase to 52, - told the correspondent of the Far Eastern United Edition director of the company Konstantin Gurkovich.

Other projects are at different stages of implementation. Thus, six FPV residents chose the design and construction of housing, hotels and other real estate as their areas of activity.

Several large-scale projects are being developed in the field of animal husbandry, crop production and aquaculture. So, in the Mikhailovsky TOP, the Zhongding Dairy Farmin agricultural holding, which is one of the five largest milk producers in China, will invest more than $300 million in the creation a livestock complex for 50,000 heads of cattle and the production of 500 tons of milk per day, and will also create its own fodder base on an area of ​​50,000 hectares. Most of the products will be exported to China and the market of the Asia-Pacific countries.

The complex will create a total of more than 2,000 jobs. The agreement with the Russian side stipulates that only 300 of them will be occupied by Chinese citizens, the rest are intended for local residents. The company has already invested $18.3 million to lease land, build a farm, purchase machinery and the first batch of dairy herds. 70 jobs have been created, 40 of which are occupied by local residents.

At the first stage, one of the residents will invest $33 million in the aquaculture development project in Primorsky Krai.

"The Far East Mariculture He Xiang company, which we have created for implementation, will be engaged in the production, processing and sale of seafood. We are one of the first Chinese companies to engage in aquaculture in the Russian Far East using the most advanced technologies. We have our own fleet and large bases, which allows you to find markets in different countries Oh. We will create about 500 jobs for local residents," he said. Zhang Junfen, president of Yantai Tongxiang Foods.

Another resident (the company "Wen Liang - Aquaculture") guaranteed in an agreement with the Far East Development Corporation that it would invest about 9.5 billion rubles in the construction of a plant for growing scallop, trepang, mussels and seaweed (about 40 thousand tons per year) and will create more than a thousand new jobs.

The VELES-Snack company will set up the production of fish and seafood products in the Nadezhdinskaya ASEZ, the amount of declared investments is 135 million rubles, of which the share of the Chinese investor is 108 million rubles.

Also, Chinese entrepreneurs are organizing an innovative enterprise for the processing of old tires by pyrolysis, the production of OSB boards and formwork in Ussuriysk. , build a refrigeration complex; in the Nadezhdinsky district - a leather factory and a diaper shop; in the Shkotovsky district - a complex for the production of metal structures.

Work is actively underway on transport projects that have a large multiplier effect on the economies of Russia and China, especially for border regions. The most ambitious is the development of the international transport corridors "Primorye-1" and "Primorye-2". The potential of transit cargoes gravitating to them from the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin is about 45 million tons.

Reference: A memorandum on cooperation in the development of these ITCs was signed in July 2017 during a working visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The parties agreed to develop the ITC infrastructure, ensure a "seamless" transit regime, support the construction of logistics parks and stimulate the development of cross-border e-commerce.

The China Communications and Construction Company, the Guanda Company and the China Road and Bridge Corporation are showing interest in the construction of ITC infrastructure facilities on a concession basis. Agreements were reached on the creation of a Russian-Chinese working group, which will prepare a financial and economic model for each facility.

"We have all the conditions for the further development of bilateral relations and the deepening of multifaceted cooperation. China has begun a new era in its history. We will follow a new concept of development, a policy of openness, and create the most comfortable and liberal conditions for trade and investment cooperation," he stressed. emergency and plenipotentiary Chinese Ambassador to Russia Mr. Li Hui.

TOP on the Russian-Chinese border

China and Russia also agreed to create a cross-border territory of advanced development in the area of ​​border checkpoints in Primorye and Suifenhe in China. Such a statement was made in Harbin, at the opening ceremony of the Years of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and China. The project is being developed by a working group formed as part of the intergovernmental Russian-Chinese commission for the development of regions. The total investment in the project could be about $2 billion.

"Inside the ASEZ, free movement (without visas) of people, goods and services, as well as a duty-free trade regime are provided. It is also planned to build enterprises for the production of competitive export products, shopping and entertainment facilities to attract tourists from China. Residents will be able to supply their products to the markets of both countries," the ministry's press service said.

The cross-border ASEZ will be managed by a "supervisory board of representatives of the interested departments of Russia and China." More detailed information will be ready for the IV Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held in Vladivostok from 11 to 13 September.

Reference : According to the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, the total area of ​​the cross-border ASEZ in the adjacent territories near the checkpoints Pogranichny "(Primorsky Territory) and Suifenhe" (Heilongjiang Province) is 413 hectares. On the Russian site, 233 hectares of land have been identified for the project, on the Chinese - 180 hectares. The volume of investments from the Russian side is $355.8 million, from the Chinese - about $1.6 billion.

TOP "Russian Island"

Chinese companies are also showing great interest in creating a priority development area on Russky Island in Vladivostok. It is focused on the development of high technologies, Scientific research, digital economy projects and projects in the field of medicine and tourism development.

At last year's Eastern Economic Forum, the Far East Development Fund (FEDF) signed a partnership agreement with the Silk Road Research and Planning Center in the project to create a Center for International Cooperation. It will become the core of the Russky Island development concept approved by the Russian government.

A congress and exhibition center and hotels, research and treatment centers, a multifunctional sports and recreation complex, an international business center, housing, and tourist infrastructure facilities will be built here. It is here that major international events, including the WEF, are planned to be held in the future.

"We expect that the Center for International Cooperation will become pilot project a comprehensive international program in the field of healthcare and a practical step in the implementation of mutually beneficial initiatives within the framework of the global strategy "One Belt, One Road". Strong partners from Asia have united around the project, plus unique competitive advantages region, because more than a billion people live within a two-hour flight to Vladivostok. According to experts' forecasts, by 2020 the tourist flow in Primorye will reach 7 million people. Alexey Chekunkov, General Director of the FRDV.

The consortium created to implement the project already unites about a dozen companies (China Huaxin Group, Universal Medical Financial & Technical Advisory Services Company, Sunac China (Beijing), China Chengtong International Investment, China National Culture & Art Company, etc.). China Communications Construction Corporation, one of the world leaders in the design and construction of ports, residential and commercial real estate, roads, bridges, railways, subways and airports, has recently joined the pool of international investors. The concern is considering both the possibility of direct investment, including in the construction of an international convention and exhibition center, and participation in the design, construction and management of facilities.

Reference:The total area of ​​real estate objects to be built is about 1.7 million square meters. meters, the total budget of the project is more than 140 billion rubles.

The material was prepared by the Far Eastern United Editorial Board (DOR)

Of the total volume of foreign investment attracted to the Far Eastern Federal District over the past 2.5 years, the lion's share - 85% - falls on the PRC. In 2017, the volume of investments of partners from the Celestial Empire in the Far Eastern economy increased by a third.

Meeting of the heads of government of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China in Beijing. At a press conference following this event, Li Keqiang noted that "this time we have reached new agreements on cooperation in the Far East. We are going to increase Chinese investment in the development of the Far East, we are ready to import even more Russian energy products from there." Photo: Sergey Kuksin / RG

New conditions

According to Alexei Chekunkov, Director General of the Far East Development Fund (FRDF), the potential for China's investment in the Far Eastern District is huge - tens of billions of dollars. The fact that it can and should be implemented was discussed during an official two-day visit to China by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

We are going to increase Chinese investment in the development of the Far East, - Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, promised at a meeting with the head of the Russian government.

Close ties between the northeastern provinces of China and the Far Eastern Federal District have been established for a long time, but if earlier they were almost exclusively of a commercial nature, today they have received a completely new impetus thanks to the economic instruments that have begun to operate in the Russian Far East - TOP and FPV.

In particular, we have waived income tax in the priority development territories, which is credited to federal budget. There, the zero rate is valid for five years. And we have significantly reduced the part of the tax that goes to the regional budgets. Therefore, naturally, we invite you to invest in these territories,” Dmitry Medvedev explained.

Chinese business is now discovering the Far East in a new way. Entrepreneurs have seen that the conditions created by the Russian state are working and favorable for business development, - says Alexander Galushka, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East.

To help residents, the Russian government has established the Far East Agency for Investment Promotion and Export Support. This department works with partners from around the world, but the first foreign representative office was opened in China. That is, now a potential Chinese investor can get advice directly in Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai, for this he does not need to come to Russia.

The results of the high level There are already efforts, and considerable ones. Chinese partners are willing to enter the oil and gas sector, cooperation is developing in agro-industrial cooperation, high technologies, and housing construction.

About factories and farms

One of the largest Russian-Chinese projects is the construction of an oil refinery in the Amur Region on the territory of the Priamurskaya ASEZ. Its initiator is the Amur Energy Company (AEC). The first stage of the complex is planned to be commissioned in 2018. The second one will start operating in 2020, when an oil product pipeline will be built from the village of Berezovka (Russia) to Heihe (PRC).

Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev: The development project of the ITC "Primorye-1" and "Primorye-2" can become strategic for interaction between Russia and China in the Far East. Photo: minvr.ru

The main investor of the project (with a share of 90%) is the private Chinese capital represented by the Menglan Xinghe company, Alexander Gordeev, General Director of AEC, told Breath of China. - In total, about 120 billion rubles of investments will be attracted to the Amur Region.

From 2019, the plant will be able to process 4 million tons of oil and 2 million tons of oil and gas condensate per year. Four-fifths of all production will go to China through pipelines laid along the bottom of the Amur.

Many new projects with the participation of Chinese capital are being implemented in the Primorsky Territory. Thus, the investor of the free port of Vladivostok, Yubo-Sumotori Production Company, organizes the production and distribution of trucks of the FAW brand. The planned production volume at the start of the project is up to 2,000 vehicles per year. The ERZO enterprise is creating capacities for processing used tires in Ussuriysk. The Primorsky Gold Mining Company is developing the Zolotoy deposit in the Partizansky District. investment project Russian-Chinese dairy farm for 1800 cows. The plans of the company "Industrial park for the development of science and technology in agriculture and animal husbandry "Tanyuan", which involve the construction of a cattle breeding complex in the Shkotovsky district. The investor is a consortium of individuals from Jilin Province.

In the JAO, a resident of the Amur-Khinganskaya ASEZ, the Amurprom company, has begun construction of a soybean deep processing plant in the Leninsky district. The high-tech enterprise will produce oil, lecithin, isoflavins and protein complexes. The plant's capacity is up to 300 thousand tons of soybeans per year. Another project of the same company is deep wood processing with a capacity of more than 20,000 cubic meters of timber per year. The plant will produce lumber, veneer, furniture panels and fuel briquettes.

With the attraction of investments from China, a business-class hotel complex is being created in the Jewish Autonomy at the site of the Nizhneleninsky industrial park. The hotel will have 280 rooms. In addition, the Logistika enterprise plans to build a complex for the acceptance, processing and storage of goods coming from Russia to China and back.

In 2017, a decision was made to launch a pulp and paper mill project in the city of Amursk, Khabarovsk Territory. The Chinese side plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in the construction of a facility with a capacity of 500,000 tons of softwood pulp per year. At least 500 jobs will be created. The investor will be a subsidiary China companies paper corporation. The relevant memorandum of understanding was signed by the Far East Investment Promotion Agency and China Paper. According to the document, the construction site of the plant will be included in the Komsomolsk priority development area, which will allow the investor to receive significant tax incentives. As Vyacheslav Shport, Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, noted, "the new production facility will be another step towards the development of cooperation between Russia and China. The regional authorities will render maximum assistance to investors."

Business from the Celestial Empire opens up completely new territories for itself in the East of Russia. In the Yakut ASEZ "Kangalassy" residents with the participation of Chinese capital invested in the production of ceramic bricks. Kamchatka is ready to invest more than four billion rubles in a port industrial park. It is supposed to include several functional zones: a transit cargo terminal, enterprises for processing and remelting renewable resources, a fishing cluster, ship repair and shipbuilding complexes, as well as a number of other industries.

Roads

Both Russia and China are making very serious investments today in transport infrastructure.

Since the beginning of 2017, the volume of transit cargo coming from China through the south of the Far East has quadrupled. And the volume of mutual trade increased by 33%. The creation of "bridges of friendship" is called upon to stimulate trade and freight traffic. One of them is the railway (Nizhnleninskoye (EAO, RF) - Tongjiang (PRC), it will be launched in the first half of the current year. The construction of the road bridge Blagoveshchensk (Amur Region, RF) - Heihe (PRC) is also underway.

Recently it became known that between Harbin and Vladivostok, a high-speed Railway. Its construction, the initiative of which followed from the Chinese partners, was discussed by the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East Alexander Galushka with CEO China Railway Dongfang Group - Cai Zemin.

The Harbin - Vladivostok highway is more than 380 km of tracks and 12 stations. The laying of the line from Mudanjiang to Harbin is already underway. It is planned that the speed of movement along it will be 250 km per hour. The cost of the project is up to 19 billion US dollars.

Chinese business is now discovering the Far East in a new way, - says Alexander Galushka, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East. Photo: minvr.ru

Initially, a passenger line was conceived. But after evaluating the economics of the project, it was decided to focus on a mixed flow, taking into account the transportation of goods, - said Cai Zemin.

Another important topic is the international transport corridors (ITC) "Primorye-1" and "Primorye-2".

I consider it relevant to cooperate with the Chinese business on the construction of the Razdolnoye - Khasan - Zarubino road, which is part of the Primorye-2 ITC and connects the northeastern provinces of China with the ports of the region. In addition, we need a ring road in Vladivostok with bridges to the Russian and Elena islands, which requires serious financial investments, - Andrey Tarasenko, Acting Governor of Primorsky Krai, listed.

China Communications Construction Company is going to participate in these projects. This Chinese national corporation has repeatedly emphasized its interest in working in the region, including in the construction of roads for the Primorye-1 and Primorye-2 transport corridors.

The development project of the ITC "Primorye-1" and "Primorye-2" can become a strategic one for the interaction between Russia and China in the Far East. It is supported by the leaders of our countries. The project will benefit our states. This can be a vivid example of the integration of the Eurasian Economic Union with the Silk Road Economic Belt. For our part, we are interested in the project to take place, and its implementation to begin in the near future, - said Deputy Prime Minister - Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev.

The Ministry for the Development of the Far East reported on China's desire to move part of its enterprises to the territory of the Far East. The Russian authorities say they are ready to place Chinese production facilities subject to the obligatory observance of environmental requirements adopted in Russia. Does this mean that, against the backdrop of declining labor costs, an “investment boom” is starting in our country? What will the transfer of production bring to China and Russia? Will the economy of the Far Eastern District receive an impetus to development, and what will be the benefit of this for its population?

Which enterprises and under what conditions can be transferred from China to the Russian Far East?

The PRC expressed its desire to move to the territory of our country part of the enterprises of 12 sectors of the economy - engineering, agriculture, cement industry, metallurgy, energy, textile industry, shipbuilding, telecommunications industry and others.

Enterprises will be created within the framework of priority development areas (TOR) and the Free Port of Vladivostok, they will receive administrative preferences and tax benefits. Among the requirements for the Chinese put forward by the Russian side, in addition to environmental ones, there is a restriction on the use of foreign labor. According to the assurances of the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, Alexander Galushka, at least 80% of the workers at the enterprises being created will be Russian citizens. The exact list of enterprises is unknown, just as the details of the agreements are unknown. To date, only a memorandum has been signed.

Why did the Chinese need to transfer part of their production to Russia? .

One of the main reasons is the catastrophic situation with the environment in China itself.

This problem appeared in the country a long time ago, and by the time the PRC was formed in 1949, it was already very noticeable. The rapid growth of the population created a large demographic burden on the land, and in times of " cultural revolution” and the “great leap forward”, uncontrolled deforestation and plowing of new lands began. At the end of the last century, when an investment boom began in the country, catastrophic damage was inflicted on the environment. China, having a dense river network and the world's fourth largest fresh water reserves, second only to Russia, Canada and Brazil, is the only major country which is experiencing a water crisis. Of the 600 cities in China, 400 are experiencing shortages of drinking water, and more than 360 million rural people in China consume water that does not meet sanitary standards. Pollution of water bodies in China is due to the discharge of industrial waste into them and due to the too intensive use of chemistry in agriculture.

The Chinese industry discharges into the environment an order of magnitude more waste per unit of output than the industry in China. developed countries. Protest moods are growing in the country associated with the difficult environmental situation - every year up to half a million people die from air pollution in China. The state spends more than $100 billion a year on environmental protection, but this measure does not give much effect.

No less serious is the problem in the country's agriculture - the number of arable lands is decreasing, soil erosion and desertification of pastures are increasing.

All these reasons are forcing the Chinese leadership to look for ways to unload the industrial complex and transfer part of the production to other countries, as well as to look for new agricultural land.

How demanding are Russian environmental regulations, and are the Chinese ready to follow them?

Russian environmental standards are among the most stringent in the world, although this circumstance is compensated by the fact that Russian officials are among the most "compliant", and this is well known to Chinese "investors". In modern China, its own "green legislation" is quite strict, but it is completely ineffective, since economic growth is considered the highest good in Chinese society, and environmental laws can only be implemented formally. The state and business, in the name of economic growth, willingly violate environmental requirements, no more than 1% of all lawsuits related to environmental pollution reach the court, and not to the best of zealous environmental service employees can be fired altogether.

It would be unreasonable to expect that the Chinese will demonstrate a reverent attitude towards the ecology of other countries. There were quite a lot of reports in the press about the destruction of forests in Africa and Latin America by Chinese "investors". Residents of our Far East already know how agricultural lands fall into disrepair after two or three years of work on them by the Chinese. Attempts by our supervisory authorities to somehow moderate the agility of Chinese entrepreneurs turn out to be ineffective - they are often blocked at the level of local administrations.

In addition, according to experts, the Chinese often use chemicals in industry that are not subject to rationing in our country, and for this reason it will be simply impossible to control their use.

Will the transfer of Chinese enterprises to Russia mean the creation of jobs for our citizens?

The idea of ​​moving Chinese enterprises to the Far East appeared several years ago. At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in 2014, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, speaking about investments in Russia, directly indicated that in addition to financial resources, China also has the largest labor force in the world and considers its projects with the Russian side precisely with this factor in mind. This position is confirmed by many years of experience of Chinese business in Russia. For example, the famous story of the Amazar pulp mill in Transbaikalia. Contrary to the initial agreement on 50% participation of local residents in the work of the plant, in fact their share turned out to be scanty, wages are lower than those of the Chinese, disrespectful attitude from employers and a complete lack of prospects. By the way, the implementation of the project to build a plant for more than 10 years was reduced to elementary logging and export of unprocessed wood to China.

The Chinese use a similar approach in their investment activity and in other countries. Along with production, millions of Chinese citizens are imported to African and Latin American countries. This creates social tensions in the host countries, in addition to the environmental and economic problems that result from Chinese investment. The Chinese are fighting this phenomenon by creating cultural centers, buying up the media and inviting the best local journalists to create the image of a “white and fluffy” Chinese.

Does the decline in the cost of labor in Russia affect the attractiveness of our country for foreign investors?

To a minimal extent and in isolated cases. Today, the cost of labor in Russia (the average salary is less than $500, according to Rosstat) has become lower than in China (more than $700 on average in the country). This is not the first time that such a situation has arisen - in the early 1990s, the cost of Russian labor was also lower than that of China and amounted to less than $10, but this did not lead to any investment boom.

Rather, on the contrary, productions that could compete with Western industry were actively destroyed, equipment, including quite modern imported equipment, was scrapped, but in enterprises of strategic importance, on the contrary, foreigners gladly bought out shares, and it was difficult to "smoke" them out of there. it was possible even in the 2000s, when the salaries of Russians increased many times over. That is, in the attractiveness of a country for foreign investment, the cost of labor is not at all such a determining factor. In any case, this is not the only factor.

But the head of Sberbank, Gref, is very pleased that the Russian labor force is cheaper than the Chinese one. The former head of the Ministry of Economic Development admires the "courage" of the head of the Central Bank, Nabiullina, who, having collapsed the ruble, thereby saved the real sector of the economy.

So far, this "salvation" has resulted in the fact that there are no buyers in the Chinese clothing markets of Blagoveshchensk. And this happens not because cheaper Russian-made goods have been discovered (there are also such goods, flour, for example, but there are few of them, and the Chinese have already arranged their deliveries from Russia to China), but due to the lack of money from our buyers. Experts say that an increasing number of our citizens go to retail chains like Ausha for clothes, where they buy Chinese consumer goods of the lowest quality, even by Chinese standards.

Does the government use the cheap labor of Russians for the country's economic growth?

Uses the only way known to the government - continues tireless attempts to invite a foreign investor. The Ministry of Industry and Trade offers Western retailers Zara, H&M and IKEA to place orders with Russian enterprises. Retailers said they were ready to consider the offer. Pierre Cardin declares its readiness to sew clothes in Russia.

Experts say that the difference in the cost of labor in China and Russia does not yet give grounds to transfer production from one country to another. We are talking only about small batches up to 1000 units. Large batch production is still more profitable to do in China. This is due to the fact that tailoring in Russia is of a “screwdriver” nature, that is, the country does not have enough and the right range of fabrics and accessories. A similar situation is observed in any other area. industrial production countries.

What plans does our government have for the development of the Far East, apart from Chinese proposals?

Since the 1990s, there have been quite a lot of plans for the development of the Far East. As Prime Minister Medvedev acknowledged back in 2013, all the plans and models that the government used to develop the region “have not yet brought the result we expected, they have not produced an economic effect.” Among the latest programs for the development of the Far East, adopted last summer, are the development of coal deposits and the construction of a coal transshipment point in the port of Vanino, gold mining in the Amur region, and the construction of mining and processing complexes. That is, an activity that is somehow connected with the sale of fossils, as a maximum, in an enriched form. The products of enterprises that the Chinese would like to transfer to Russia should also be exported to Southeast Asian countries. That is, for a small production money, these will simply smoke the sky of the Far East and nothing more.

In fairness, it should be noted that in addition to the sale of raw materials, our government officials have another "weakness" - gambling zones. Apparently, the government pins all its hopes on one of them in the suburbs of Vladivostok. economic growth in the Far East. Where without such a "driver"?

© RIA Novosti

China begins the "conquest" of the Russian Far East

Russians will soon run out

Participation in the development plans of this region is of great importance for Beijing due to the rich reserves of raw materials We need investment that respects Russian legislation, not roads or dams in exchange for oil, says Oleg Lipaev, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade

Vladivostok, 31 July. With more than 20,000 Chinese enterprises and about 70,000 Chinese immigrants living in the Russian Far East, Beijing is becoming a key player in this isolated region, which is of great importance to it due to its rich reserves of raw materials.

Crossing the Sino-Russian border through the Suifenhe checkpoint, located in northeast China, the first thing that catches your eye is that Russia has ceased to be a “big brother” in relations with Beijing, which only a quarter of a century ago faithfully followed communist ideology imposed by the Soviet regime.

New roads and shopping centers located on the Chinese side, where you can see all kinds of goods and food, contrast sharply with the infrastructure of the last century and dilapidated roads of Primorsky Krai. They are not even able to provide communication between the main economic enterprises this region.

China is a key player in the development of Primorsky Krai. Its share in the regional gross domestic product reaches 20%, said Oleg Lipaev, representative of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade in Primorsky Krai.

“50% of agricultural products, especially fruits and herbs, which are sold on Russian market are made in China. If the Chinese stop exporting their greens, the price will probably triple," the official said in an interview.

In Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai's capital, a port city of 750,000 and strategically important to Russia because of its access to the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese control most of the markets where locals buy everyday goods, from clothing to rice.

Four of the city's main markets are owned by 37-year-old Chinese entrepreneur Liu De Shang, who is also chairman of the Sino-Russian Association of Entrepreneurs. He has been doing business in Russia for 15 years.

About two thousand Chinese work in the largest of its markets, selling a wide variety of Chinese-made goods in stalls. All business is strictly controlled by the citizens of the Celestial Empire.

They produce goods, bring them to Russia and sell them here at retail.

Liu's story best captures the success that enterprising Chinese can achieve in this industrially underdeveloped region of Russia.

“I worked as a chef in China for many years, and in 1995 I decided to quit everything and started selling boots in Russia, produced in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang,” says Liu de Shang.

“In 58 days, I made my first fortune: 24,000 rubles, which equaled $780,” recalls the well-connected man in all walks of life with a smile.

“Business took off and we opened our first store. Subsequently, they bought an adjoining building, removed the wall and expanded the business,” says Liu, who has become a legendary figure in his village.

And the whole point is that more than 120 relatives and acquaintances are involved in the business, which has spread to other regions of Russia (four shopping centers in Vladivostok, two in Khabarovsk, as well as the trading premises of his brother in Moscow).

The migration of Chinese who work in mining, construction or markets has especially increased since the 1990s, when industry in the north of the country fell into disrepair due to the privatization of bankrupt state-owned enterprises.

The Russian authorities do not have data on the exact number of Chinese in the country, but according to various estimates, there are about 70,000 of them, who arrived both legally and illegally, in three regions in northeast Russia. This causes a certain tension and xenophobic sentiment, as the Russians see how the Chinese enrich themselves on their territory.

Cross-border trade, which is based on the exchange of Russian raw materials for Chinese goods, is a concern here, as it is in some Latin American countries.

“The problem is that it is impossible to compete with China. Each time they supply more and more high-tech goods, which entails consequences at the local level and determines the existence of our entire industry,” said Lipaev.

He stressed that it was for this reason that the government of the Russian Federation introduced a tax on the export of metals, timber and oil.

"In the Chinese province of Heilongjiang, the average size wages ranges from 60 to 100 dollars. We have 600 in Primorsky Krai. How can we compete with them?” Lipaev asks, without expressing much optimism about the future.

“In the near future, trade with China will be profitable, especially for people who have access to cheap goods. But in 10-15 years, China will certainly pose a threat and create obstacles to job creation in the local labor market,” the official warned.

However, some experts are more optimistic, as they believe that Chinese investment, goods and immigrants offer a chance to develop the region, which is in economic and demographic decline.

“We still have a Soviet mentality that makes us think that foreign investment in mining is a form of colonialism and dependence on foreign countries,” said Viktor Larin, an expert on Russian-Chinese relations.

“I think that the eastern part of Russia may lose the opportunity. China is not a threat but an opportunity,” he added.

Larin welcomed the intergovernmental agreements signed in 2009 by Russian President Dmitry A. Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao and aimed at further development economic relations, primarily in the field of extraction and use of natural resources.

However, some criticize China's actions not only in Siberia, but also in Central Asia, Africa and Latin America, where Chinese investment in mineral development is not accompanied by a preliminary analysis of environmental and social consequences.

“To develop the mineral resources of Siberia, we propose the creation of joint Russian-Chinese enterprises operating in accordance with Russian legislation,” emphasizes Lipaev, who studied in China.

We need investments that respect Russian law, not roads or dams in exchange for oil. We don't need them," he said.

“We can build them ourselves,” Larin added, emphasizing the difference between his country and Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, where China always wins by offering in exchange for Natural resources not only funding, but also building the necessary infrastructure.

“We want to remain an independent country and for this we will continue to do everything in our power as long as we can,” he said.