Construction of a Sino-Russian university will begin in Suifenhe, a city in China's northernmost Heilongjiang Province, in April this year, said local sources.

The university will be built jointly by the Suifenhe City Government, Shimao Group, a real estate development company from Hong Kong and a Russian company, according to an agreement signed earlier among the three partners.

In accordance with the agreement, the new university will have a 40-hectare campus, with Suifenhe providing the land. The Hong Kong partner is held responsible for generating 300 million yuan (about US$36.15 million) in investment needed for the building of the university infrastructure. The Russian company will provide Russian language specialists.

Hui Wing Mau, chairman of Shimao Group, voiced the hope that the new university will support Suifenhe's efforts of building itself into a dynamic city in northeast China.

Recruitment for the new university, which is to be installed with colleges for subjects ranging from languages, commerce and trade, to tourism, will start after construction finishes in 2006.

Situated on the Sino-Russian border, Suifenhe has served as a pivotal link in Sino-Russian trade. It did US$2.5 billion worth of foreign trade last year, accounting for 37 percent of Heilongjiang Province's total trade in the year.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2005)