China, Ukraine signs agreement to strengthen infrastructure cooperation

China and Ukraine signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the infrastructure sector, accelerating economic ties between the two countries, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Sunday.

The two countries will encourage domestic enterprises and financial institutions to actively cooperate on road, bridge and rail transit projects, and will provide necessary help and support for the implementation of cooperative projects, which are expected to have broad development prospects, according to the agreement.

The agreement was signed by Chinese Commerce Ministry Wang Wentao and Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov on June 30.

Economic and trade relations between China and Ukraine have developed smoothly, and cooperation in the field of infrastructure has shown a good momentum of development.

Newly-penned contracts signed by Chinese companies in Ukrainian engineering market has exceeded $2 billion for two consecutive years, making positive contributions to the implementation of the European country's economic development, data from the MOFCOM showed.

Currently, the Ukrainian government is investing in large-scale construction in Dnipropetrovsk region as the priorities, including air transportation, new roads, rail transport, in addition to strengthening connections between urban centers.

It provides an opportunity that would help release full potential and broad prospects between China and Ukraine in infrastructure construction, according to the MOFCOM.

Ukraine saw a 20.8 percent year-on-year growth in trade with China in 2020 with the value at $15.42 billion, according to the data by the press service of the State Customs of Ukraine.

Ukraine's trade turnover amounted to $103.4 billion in 2020 and China remained Ukraine's largest trading partner, according to the agency.

Ukraine is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to establish a strategic partnership with China. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-Ukraine strategic partnership.

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office in Geneva said on June 25 that it had withdrawn its signature from a joint statement on the human rights situation concerning China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the Xinhua News Agency, the move of which was welcomed by Beijing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the action reflected Ukraine's spirit of independence and its respect for facts and conforms to the purposes of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations.