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Ukraine ties rejuvenated by 'epochal' state visit

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Good relations with China were established under a former president, Leonid Kuchma. However, during the reign of the "Orange team", led by Yushchenko, Sino-Ukrainian relations deteriorated.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd L) holds talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (3rd R) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Sept. 2, 2010. [Ma Zhancheng/Xinhua]

In April, Yanukovych, who became Ukraine president in February, and Hu met in Washington and agreed to the Ukrainian president's visit to China.

The visit, which local papers are describing as "epochal", "historical", or, "extraordinary", has been viewed by analysts from both countries as a strategic move both politically and economically for the two nations to secure their ties in a changing regional landscape.

"Ukraine is the second largest country of the CIS. Geographically, it serves as China's gateway to Europe. Therefore the strategic location of Ukraine is significant," said Wang Lijiu, researcher of the institute of Russian studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

Meanwhile, as China and Ukraine are both non-aligned countries, their cooperation will add a new momentum to the balance of world power, said Zhu Honggen, a researcher at the institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Experts also said the two economies were highly complementary and both had huge market potential.

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