Ukraine land of opportunity for Chinese business

Ukraine has become a new growth point in Europe and a country full of opportunities for Chinese business, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev told Xinhua in an interview Monday. Klyuyev, who is also Economic Development and Trade Minister, said Ukraine pays close attention to China's great economic development achievements. "Despite the global economic crisis, China has become the second largest economy in the world," he said, adding that "nowadays, few countries could manage to get such results." Klyuyev said the Ukrainian economy showed a steady 5 percent growth with a tendency to increase, despite the European debt crisis. "The Ukrainian government set a task to increase the growth of average annual gross domestic product between 6 percent and 8 percent," he said. Ukraine has systematically improved its investment climate, reformed its regulatory system and created favorable conditions for business, he added. "Today, many state regulatory acts have been abolished or revised to simplify all procedures. And the work continues," the first deputy premier said. On bilateral relations, Klyuyev said political and ideological differences between Kiev and Beijing never existed. "Ukraine, which is on the verge of signing a free trade area agreement with the European Union (EU), will provide effective support to China on many international issues," he said. Klyuyev said Ukraine's geographical position should be regarded as a competitive advantage. He noted that, apart from the common borders with EU countries and Russia, Ukraine has full access to the Black Sea, which makes it easier to obtain trade routes, construct ports and develop the Black Sea shelf.