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Chinese non-financial direct investment in Russia up 518 percent last year

Chinese experts attribute this significant inflow to several major strategic projects

BEIJING, January 16./ITAR-TASS/. China’s non-financial direct investment in the Russian economy increased 518 percent last year to reach $4.08 billion, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said on Thursday.

Chinese experts attribute this significant inflow to several major strategic projects: co-operation in oil and gas was of overriding importance along with regional interaction between the two countries, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister, Chen Gopin, told Itar-Tass.

Non-financial direct investment in other economies grew 16.8 percent to reach $90.17 billion, most of the funding - $65.45 billion, or 72.6 percent - invested in Hong Kong, ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), the European Union, Australia, the U.S., Russia and Japan.

Ministry spokesman Danyang said direct foreign investment into the Chinese economy grew 5.25 percent last year to reach $117.59 billion, mainly contributed by Asian countries - Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, China's special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau, and Taiwan. These invested $102.52 billion, an increase of 7.09 percent.

U.S. investment in the Chinese economy grew by 7.13 percent to reach $3.35 billion, and in the European Union by 18.07 percent, reaching $7.21 billion.

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The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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