China seeks no land seizure in Russia’s Trans-Baikal area - governor

MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Russia’s Trans-Baikal Territory in East Siberia has not signed any definite deal with China on leasing out large chunks of land and the Chinese side seeks no land seizure in the region, Regional Governor Konstantin Ilkovsky said on Tuesday. "Such an agreement on land transfer for lease does not exist. And I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is not the Chinese who are rushing to Russia. It is us who are luring them as investors to develop lands that stay idle today. These lands have been idle for a quarter of the century," the governor said in an interview with RBC business TV Channel. Media reports earlier said the Trans-Baikal Territory government had signed a letter of intent with Huae Xingbang wholly owned by China’s Zoje Resources Investment on developing the local agribusiness. Investment in the project is estimated at about 24 billion rubles ($440 million). Under the project, the Chinese investor will take 115,000 hectares of uncultivated lands and pastures on lease in the Nerchinsk-Zavodskoi, Uletovsky, Sretensky and Shilkinsky districts and in the Aginsk-Buryat Area for a term of 49 years, Regional Minister for International Cooperation Bair Galsanov said on Wednesday. If the project’s first stage in 2015-2018 is recognized as successful, the Chinese investor will be able to expand the area of lands on lease. Putin-backed People’s Front urges public hearings on Siberian land lease deal with China The All-Russian People’s Front (ONF) public movement led by President Vladimir Putin has called for holding hearings on a prospective deal to lease out large chunks of land to a Chinese investor in East Siberia, the Front’s press office reported on Monday. "Attracting investment to deeply depressed regions is a noble thing, especially in the light of all the latest statements by ONF leader Vladimir Putin on the need for the quickest implementation of import substitution projects," the public movement’s press office said. "At the same time, the ONF regional division has the firm position that the territorial authorities must hold public hearings on the issue with the involvement of the expert community and public organizations concerned, with the participation of local residents and the administrations of municipalities on the territories covered by the project," the ONF press office quoted co-chairman of the public movement’s Trans-Baikal headquarters Nikolai Govorin as saying. "The document that was signed is so far an unbinding legal agreement for any of the parties but has already caused local residents’ fears," he added. "I don’t see anything terrible if someone cultivates this land but it is important that this should be done in accordance with Russian law and in compliance with all agro-technical requirements that are effective in the Russian Federation and are set to the Russian producer," ONF regional member Andrei Kharin said. He also said the lease term of almost half a century raised questions, especially considering that this term for Russian leaseholders "is no more than 10 years." Read more