MOSCOW, May 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia is interested in Chinese businesses' participation in developing the Far East, Russian President Vladimir Putin told China's leading media in an interview ahead of his visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

“We certainly are interested in Chinese business's availing itself of the opportunities and be among the leaders there, for an accelerated development of the Far East is beneficial to both Russia and China,” the President said.

Putin has emphasized that it is important for the two countries not only to maintain trade. “It is essential to form strong technological, industrial alliances, attract investments to the infrastructure and the energy sector, jointly advance research and humanitarian contacts, and lay a solid foundation of sustainable development of our trade-and-economic relations in the long term,” he pointed out.

“In the process, the Far East can and must become a natural platform for the application of these efforts,” the President believes.

Putin recalled that an accelerated socio-economic development of Siberia and the Far East has been designated as "one of chief national priorities of Russia in the 21st century" and that a whole package of programs, connected with modernization and enlargement of the infrastructure of the regions, are being implemented.

“Emphasis is laid on the establishment of special territories for a priority economic development, in which an auspicious environment will be formed to attract investments, ensure competitive conditions for organizing export-oriented non-primary sector production plants,” the president explained.

Putin stressed: “Provision is made for a number of substantial privileges for new enterprises located in priority development areas.” “These are 'holidays' as regards a whole lot of taxes, reduced rates of insurance premia, lightened customs regulations, including free customs zones, a special procedure for land tenure, and connection to infrastructure facilities,” the President enumerated.

“At present, a corresponding federal law is being optimized, development institutions are being brought into being, and promising sites are being selected,” he pointed out.

Putin said that one of them would be in Vladivostok, on the Russkiy (Russian) Island, which was the venue of the APEC summit in 2012.

Russia expects to bring turnover in trade with China up to $200 billion by 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin told China's leading media in an interview ahead of his visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Bilateral trade to reach $200 billion by 2020

“In 2013, bilateral trade closely neared the $90 billion mark and this is far from limit,” Putin said. “We shall seek to raise trade flow up to $100 billion by 2015 and up to $200 billion by 2020,” the Russian President stated.

He pointed out that at the same time work is under way to reduce the dependence of bilateral trade on external economic situation. “This is why, within the scope of refinement of trade-and-economic cooperation, emphasis will be on breakthrough sectors (and aspects), such as a rise in energy efficiency, environmental protection, the manufacture of medicinal drugs and medical equipment, the development of new information technologies, nuclear power engineering and space research,” Putin said.

According to the president, a list of joint projects in 40 priority cooperation areas with capital investments amounting to about $20 billion is being implemented.

Among those, Putin mentioned civil aircraft construction, in particular. “An understanding has been reached on a co-development of a wide-bodied long-haul aircraft and it is planned to develop a heavy-duty helicopter,” he recalled.

“I am confident that our companies are in a position to make competitive products and deliver them to world markets,” the president said.

It is also planned, the president said, to develop investment cooperation, “the scope of which so far, obviously, does not coincide with the real resources and requirements of our countries”.

“We see a lot of promising areas for investment: various branches of engineering, the processing of farm produce, the mining of economic minerals, and the development of energy transportation infrastructure,” he said.

Putin also called for stepping up financial cooperation so as to “protect ourselves from fluctuations of rates of the world’s major currencies”. “Therefore, ways of boosting mutual settlements in national currencies are being developed,” the president said.

He is convinced that “in the light of the turbulence of the world economy, the strengthening of mutually beneficial trade-and-economic contacts and the increase in investment flows between Russia and China acquire colossal importance”.

“This is a factor of significance not only in the socio-economic development of our two countries, but also a contribution to stabilizing the entire global market,” Putin stressed.

A Kremlin official announced earlier that Vladimir Putin would visit China from May 20 to 21 for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and participation in the 4th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.