Problems in the development of the mineral and raw-material base of Russia's Far East and prospects for the modernization of the region's economy in the framework of Russian-Chinese cooperation

The paper discusses efficiency of mineral and raw materials development projects and coordina- tion of the long-term interests of public and private investors in cross-border Russian-Chinese cooperation activities. A series of empirical studies on development in the border regions of Russia's Far East over the last decades have signaled that these territories really faced risks of lagging behind. The problem associated with the provision of national interests within Russian-Chinese cooperation was illustrated on the example of two projects to be implemented in Zabaikalsky krai. The projects were evaluated using scenario analysis based on the author's methods. The estimates show that the interest of an investor, the fulfillment of Russia's legislative procedures, and the presence of market demand for products cannot always guarantee the procurement of Russia's national interests and "symmetrical" outcomes in the framework of Russian-Chinese cooperation. Searching for a compromise of interests, a methodical scheme has been offered to provide sufficient levels of sustainability and profitability for the Russian party in joint cross-border projects. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2013. Original Russian Text © I.P. Glazyrina, I.S. Kalgina, S.M. Lavlinskii, 2012.