KIEV, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina said she would work to deepen relations with China, her press service reported on Friday.
"We attach great importance to deepening the strategic partnership between our (two) countries and hope to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic soon," the official said after a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong on Thursday.
Stefanishina has recently been appointed the chairperson of the Ukrainian side for the Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee between the two countries.
she said Ukraine is an important logistics bridge that connects transport routes from China to the European Union, and opportunities for trade and investment in Ukraine have become more attractive for China, given Ukraine's active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Stefanishina added that the growth in bilateral trade volume between Ukraine and China is an important indicator of the common interest in business and new prospects for the development of economic relations.
For his part, Fan said the Chinese-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee has played a key role in coordinating bilateral collaboration in all fields. China and Ukraine can complement each other by leveraging their comparative strengths in many areas. The two countries should further tap their potential for cooperation so as to make greater progress, he said.
According to the State Statistics Service, the Ukrainian-Chinese trade turnover reached 12.79 billion U.S. dollars last year. Ukrainian exports to China grew by 63.3 percent year on year to reach 3.59 billion dollars, while imports increased by 20.9 percent to hit 9.2 billion dollars in 2019. Enditem
