China to send high-level delegation to SPIEF

World
Europe

China will be sending a high-level delegation to the 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying in Beijing on Friday.

"We always support Russia in hosting this major economic forum. In the recent years we have always sent high-level delegations to the forum. This year, we will continue to send a high-level delegation to participate," Hua said during a routine press briefing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a news briefing in Beijing on May 19, 2017. /MOFA Photo

Hua added that the forum would be an effective platform for China and Russia to strengthen bilateral pragmatic cooperation. She did not specify who the delegation members are.

SPIEF is one of Russia's major economic events. The 21st annual forum is scheduled to take place on June 1-3 in Russia’s second-largest city.

“A plenary session with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Federal Chancellor of Austria Christian Kern, set to take place on June 2, will be the central event,” said Anton Kobyakov, Russian presidential adviser and executive secretary of the SPIEF organizing committee.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 17, 2016. /VCG Photo

So far, some 39 ministers from 26 countries have confirmed their participation, while the total number of participants is estimated at over 5,000, comprising entrepreneurs and representatives of various international organizations, Kobyakov detailed.

This year, the Forum will convene under the theme “Achieving a New Balance on the Global Stage.”

“The structural ‘imbalances’ in the global and Russian economy that we have observed recently need to be balanced out. The heads of state and government, major companies and leading world experts participating in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will focus on discussing the search for a new balance for the global economy,” Kobyakov explained.

Sessions dedicated to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), BRICS, the B20 International Trade and Investment Forum as well as sessions of the Valdai Club are also on the agenda.

The SPIEF Investment & Business Expo will showcase Russian and international investment projects during the forum in St. Petersburg.

A session of the World Festival of Youth and Students will be held on the sidelines of the Forum for the first time.

Discussions will be split across five main pillars: managing the macro environment, Russian economic agenda, embracing tech disruptors, focus on the human factor and foresight series.