Russia's investment in the Far East has been rising as it speeds up the integration with neighboring East Asian countries.

That's an opportunity economists perceive as unaffordable to lose for Chinese financial institutions seeking to make strategic gains.

GREAT POTENTIAL TO TAP

The Russian government has recently approved a plan to develop its Far East region, aiming to invest hundreds of billions of US dollars in the long-term program.

"It was once not easy for foreign countries to run major businesses in that area, but the Russian government revised its policies in recent years, encouraging trade and investment cooperation with China," Yu Ping, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told Xinhua.

A handful of cities in the Far East have established regular contacts with Chinese cities in a bid to discuss the possibility of cooperation, Yu said on the sidelines of the 17th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"The potential there is enormous as the two sides are highly complementary," Yu said.

Vladimir Miklushevsky, governor of the Primorsky territory, told Xinhua that Chinese investors would enjoy a fruitful future in the Far East.

He said the region could facilitate sea transportation for some of China's northeastern provinces and reduce shipping costs. Meanwhile, he noted that the potential has yet to be well explored.

PEER COMPETITION FROM SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN

As the Far East embraces foreign investors as a whole, South Korea and Japan could become major rivals to China, Hu Bing, president of the Russia-China Investment Fund, told Xinhua.

"South Korea has invested quite a few projects, with a focus on manufacture and agriculture, in the Far East, especially in Vladivostok," Hu said.

Japan has not invested as much as South Korea but it has been interested in the agriculture and livestock industries and was considering setting up operations there.

China, Hu said, had its own advantages as the two countries share a long borderline.

Moreover, the RCIF, a 2-billion-US-dollar joint fund established when President Vladimir Putin visited China last June, could serve as a fundamental platform for firm investment growth into the Far East.

MORE PRACTICAL EFFORTS NEEDED

Apart from verbal support of the leadership, plenty of practical efforts had to be deployed, the economists said.

"The prime work is to deepen mutual understanding through concrete dialogues," Yu Ping said.

Few flights from China to the Far East are currently available, making it inconvenient to conduct frequent contacts.

The infrastructure in the vast area, which has a population of some six million people, was hardly satisfying, Yu said. The situation, Yu said, provides opportunities for Chinese companies to participate in construction in the region.

Cai Guiru, chairwoman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said Chinese companies should maintain a long-term perspective.

"We don't need once-and-for-all programs. We have to be visionary," Cai said.

She also noted that the Russian government has been working on specific rules facilitating outside investment.