Ukraine-China ties have great potential

KIEV - Ukraine and China have seen their bilateral relations and cooperation continuously strengthened and enhanced in recent years, especially in the economic and military areas.

Trade relations flourishing

Trade relations between Ukraine and China have developed smoothly and entered a new era in the past three years, according to Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Zhang Xiyun.

The two-way trade reached $9.8 billion last year, a 40-fold increase since the two nations established diplomatic ties in 1992.

Ukraine is now China's second-largest trade partner in the Commonwealth of Independent States, while China is Ukraine's biggest in Asia.

The two countries aim to see bilateral trade reach $20 billion in the near future, and to that end they have recently agreed at the working level on a program of deepening their strategic partnership during 2013-2017.

According to the document, the military-technical sector, energy, agriculture, road construction and modernization of sea ports are the major cooperation areas to be enriched and developed.

The program also envisages easier entry for Chinese tourists to Ukraine and enhanced communication between the two peoples.

Ukraine intends to attract more visitors from China, including international students and tourists, while China is becoming an increasingly popular tourism destination for the Ukrainians due to its attractive tourism resources, hospitable people and reasonable prices.

According to the Ukrainian State Statistics Service, more than 37,000 Ukrainians visited China in the past two years, up 31 percent from the 2009-2010 period.

Military cooperation on rise

During a recent visit here of Chinese Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xu Qiliang, the two sides agreed to further enhance bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych highly appreciated Xu's visit, hoping it would inject new impetus into the development of the bilateral ties.

Yanukovych said his country has taken a strategic and long-term view on developing relations and cooperation with Beijing in various fields, including the military one.

Ukrainian officials said the two nations have signed 200 contracts in the military-technical area since 1992, which contributed to the building of trust at a high level.

Ukraine regards China as one of its main partners in the fields of military and military-technical cooperation, and is willing to strengthen their ties in these promising areas.

The milestones of military cooperation between the two countries are joint training exercises with the Chinese Navy, visits by Chinese military officials to Ukrainian centers of international peacekeeping activities, cooperation in the field of military aviation, and joint efforts to combat piracy and terrorism.