Chinese Buy Up Russian Woods

Chinese enterprises plan to invest about $280 million in the pulp and paper sector in Russia's Chita region
An agreement on joint investment in logging of Russian woods was achieved in China's Harbin between three Chinese companies: paper producing company Syda from the Heilonjiang province, the Zhenrong company from southern Chinese city of Zhuhai and a company for international technical and economic cooperation from Heilonjiang. 

The president of Syda says it is now the largest investment project of Chinese companies in Russia's Far East in the pulp and paper sector.

The project is to be realized in two stages. The first stage is to begin in the second half of the year and to complete by 2006. Within this period the Chinese companies plan to invest 800 million yuan (about $980,000). Then, within the next two years the Chinese side will invest 1.5 billion yuan more (over $1.8 million). The second stage is to be completed in 2008.

It is expected that in the framework of the investment project 2 million cubic meters of timber will be logged in a year; 1.5 million cubic meters of the amount will be processed in Russia.

According to the Chinese statistics, in 2002 enterprises from the northern Chinese province of Heilonjiang logged 700,000 cubic meters of timber, 300,000 cubic meters of the amount were processed in Russia as well.

Russia is the supplier of many goods that are strategically important for the Chinese industry, timber is also included here. According to the Russian commercial mission in Beijing, timber supplies from Russia covered 61 percent of China's need for timber in 2002; Russian supplies also covered 17 percent of China's need for paper and cellulose.