Khabarovsk, 15 July: The rapprochement between Russia and China is "Russia's geopolitical aim, meant to strengthen Russia's position in the world", Konstantin Pulikovskiy, the Russian presidential envoy to the Far Eastern District, said in a statement released by the envoy's press service.

"The European Union does not exactly like Russia. They are doing everything to lower Russia's profile or its influence on European issues. This is why it is very important that in the East, in Asia we have a friendly country- the People's Republic of China, " Pulikovskiy said.

Pulikovskiy said that there are certain costs in the process of rapprochement between the two states. "They appeared in the early 1990s, as a result of the then economic situation in Russia. At that time we simply had to survive. We did not have basic consumer goods or foodstuffs. This is why the Russian authorities allowed resources and hard currency to be taken out of the country, they permitted shuttle trading on conditions that were not too beneficial for us. Naturally, our neighbours won out from that," he said.

Pulikovskiy called on state and municipal agencies to create conditions for developing competition, and not just restricting the access of Chinese entrepreneurs to the Russian market. "It is necessary to create conditions for the Russian customer to want to buy domestic goods. Nobody is setting themselves the aim of closing down border trade. We undoubtedly need to sort out border trade and to bring it in line with legislation," he said.

Pulikovskiy shared the impressions of his meetings with Chinese businessmen. "I have talked to many entrepreneurs, especially those who are involved in exporting raw materials, timber in particular. The Chinese are fully aware of the fact that they cannot be feeding on our problems any longer. They see the Russian economy grow and the budget stabilize. In future we shall be working on conditions that are mutually beneficial.

Pulikovskiy commented on the situation whereby Chinese entrepreneurs win auctions for exploiting forests or developing deposits. "There is no special preference given to our neighbours and not Russian companies, in logging for example. This means that Chinese entrepreneurs have managed to show their strength better than their Russian colleagues. Apart from this, the Ministry of Natural Resources tends to hold auctions rather than contests. It seems correct in the current situation. An auction is more open and understandable - he, who pays more, has more right to develop resources. There will be no room for lobbying here. Unfortunately, foreigners are able to pay more," he said.