Cooperation with the Chinese city of Harbin was discussed at a meeting in the Kazan City Hall

Mr. Wang Zhaoli, the first secretary of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, expressed interest in mutual work in the field of tourism and culture.

(KZN.RU, July 9, Alsu Safina). Today, a meeting with the delegation of the city of Harbin, led by Mr. Wang Zhaoli, the first secretary of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, took place in the Kazan City Hall. The possibilities of cooperation between Kazan and Harbin in the field of economy and culture were discussed at the meeting.

Lyudmila Andreeva, the deputy head of the Kazan Municipality, greeted the guests. She noted that Kazan is a city with a thousand-year history, which is now developing rapidly. “We have always been interested in the relationship with Chinese cities. We worked closely with Chinese scientists in preparation for studying the age of Kazan”, said Lyudmila Andreeva. “Later, Kazan entered into agreements with 4 Chinese cities on cooperation and partnership. We constantly cooperate with Chinese cities in the field of sports, culture, and economy. The delegation of Kazan participated in many exhibitions that took place in China”.

According to her, the cooperation with Chinese cities in many sectors will continue. Thus, close cooperation with universities and student organizations of Chinese cities is already established. In particular, agreements on cooperation were signed at the Kazan Federal University. In addition, the interest in studying the Chinese language is growing in Kazan schools.

Mr. Wang Zhaoli, the first secretary of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in Harbin, noted that their delegation is happy to visit Kazan. Their goal is to get to know the city and discuss the prospects for cooperation between the cities. Mr. Wang Zhaoli drew attention to the fact that the two cities have common points. For example, Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan, one of Russia's regions, and Harbin, located in the north-eastern part of China, is the administrative center of Heilongjiang Province. Harbin interacts with Russian regions, mainly in the Far Eastern Federal District: Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories and the Jewish Autonomous Region. It is no coincidence that Harbin is considered the central city for cooperation with Russia. The head of the Chinese delegation called the Harbin International Trade and Economic Fair a good platform for cooperation.

At the same time, Mr. Wang Zhaoli noted that they are interested in studying the experience and potential of other cities and regions, in particular, Kazan and Tatarstan. Even now, members of the delegation of Harbin drew attention to the fact that there is a favorable investment climate for the work of enterprises.

The history of the development of Harbin is connected with the construction of the Sino-Eastern Railway. In the 1920s, the city's population was about 300 thousand people; most of the residents were foreigners. Now, there are several million people live in Harbin, and more than 10 general consulates of foreign countries are open. Mr. Wang Zhaoli believes that cooperation in the field of culture and tourism could be promising, especially since the architecture and culture of Harbin are closely connected with Russia. The Chinese city hosts festivals such as the international ice and snow festival, and the Harbin mosque is one of the monuments of the city.

Lyudmila Andreeva supported the head of the Chinese delegation and marked that there could be more directions for cooperation since Kazan is the leading city in Tatarstan that influences the development of the economy. She recalled that defense enterprises were transported to Kazan during the Great Patriotic War. They continued to work in the city after the war, a number of enterprises are now city-forming.

All the main economic indicators, which Kazan will strive for in the coming years, are reflected in the Strategy of social and economic development of the city until 2030. The main points of this document were shared with the members of the Chinese delegation by Ildar Shakirov, the deputy head of the Executive Committee. Radik Shafigullin, the deputy head of the Executive Committee, told about another document important for the life of the city: the General Plan of Kazan. Azat Abzalov, the head of the Department of Culture, presented the cultural life of the capital of Tatarstan to the guests.

During the conversation, members of the Chinese delegation were able to ask questions. At the end of the meeting, Lyudmila Andreeva noted the interest in cooperation with China in the field of economy, city development, improvement of public spaces, etc. She also expressed her hope that the opening of the Consulate General of China in the capital of Tatarstan 1.5 years ago will promote the active joint work of Kazan and Harbin.

Gao Huimin, the head of the Harbin Foreign Office, Ji Ping, the head of the Commercial Department, Li ZhiJie, the head of the Department of Science and Technology, Gou Tsintsze, the head of the Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Press, Wu Yingqin, the consul general of China in Kazan, Tian Zhi, the consul general consulate of China in Kazan, also took part in the meeting.

Photo report

The meeting with the delegation of the Chinese city of Harbin, 07/09/2018