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2023 March 31

On the evening of March 21 local time, with the signing of the two joint statements, the enthusiasm for economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia further increased. Beyond traditional areas, new areas for cooperation such as the digital economy, green economy, and bio medicine are gradually becoming clear.

01

China and Russia will focus on eight key directions

Carry out bilateral economic cooperation

On March 21 local time, the heads of state of China and Russia signed the Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination in the New Era and the Joint Statement of the President of the People’s Republic of China and the President of the Russian Federation on the Development Plan for the key directions of China-Russia economic cooperation before 2030.

The two countries agreed to promote high-quality development of Sino Russian economic and trade cooperation, inject new impetus into comprehensively promoting bilateral cooperation, maintain the rapid development momentum of bilateral trade in goods and services, and commit to significantly increasing the volume of bilateral trade by 2030. 

02
China-Russia trade and economic cooperation reached 200 billion U.S. dollars

In recent years, China-Russia trade has developed rapidly. Bilateral trade reached a record $190.271 billion in 2022, up 29.3 percent year on year, with China remaining Russia’s largest trading partner for 13 years in a row, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In terms of cooperation areas, China’s exports to Russia in 2022 increased by 9 percent year-on-year in mechanical and electrical products, 51 percent in high-tech products, and 45 percent in automobiles and parts.

Bilateral trade in agricultural products has increased by 43 percent, and Russian flour, beef and ice cream are popular among Chinese consumers.

In addition, the role of energy trade in bilateral trade has become more prominent. Russia is the main source of China’s oil, natural gas and coal imports.

In the first two months of this year, trade between China and Russia continued to grow rapidly. Bilateral trade reached 33.69 billion U.S. dollars, up 25.9 percent year on year, showing a successful start to the year.

It is worth noting that a fast and efficient new international trade channel has opened up between the two capitals of Beijing and Moscow.

The first China-Europe freight train in Beijing left Pinggu Mafang Station at 9:20 am on March 16. The train will head west through Manzhouli Railway port and arrive in Moscow, capital of Russia, after 18 days of traveling, covering a total distance of about 9,000 kilometers.

A total of 55 40-foot containers were loaded with car parts, building materials, home appliances, coated paper, cloth, clothing and household goods.

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said on March 23 that China-Russia economic and trade cooperation in various fields has made steady progress, and China will work with Russia to promote the sustained, stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation in the future. 

Shu Jueting introduced that during the visit, the two sides signed economic and trade cooperation documents in soybean, forestry, exhibition, Far East industry and infrastructure, which further expanded the breadth and depth of bilateral cooperation. 

Shu Jueting also revealed that the two sides are wasting no time in formulating a plan for the 7th China-Russia Expo and studying the holding of relevant business activities to provide more opportunities for cooperation between enterprises of the two countries.

03
Russian media: Chinese enterprises fill the vacancy in the Russian market

Recently, “Russia Today” (RT) reported that Russian Ambassador to China Morgulov said in an interview that more than 1,000 companies have withdrawn from the Russian market due to Western sanctions against Russia in the past year, but Chinese companies are quickly filling the void. “We welcome the surge of Chinese exports to Russia, mainly machinery and sophisticated types of goods, Including computers, cell phones and cars.”

He noted that Chinese companies are actively filling the void left by the departure of more than 1,000 companies from the Russian market in the past year due to western sanctions since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“We welcome the surge in Chinese exports to Russia, mainly machinery and sophisticated types of goods, and our Chinese friends are filling the gap left by the withdrawal of these Western brands, such as computers, mobile phones and cars,” Morgulov said. You can see more and more Chinese cars on our streets… Therefore, I think the growth prospects of Chinese exports to Russia are good.”

Morgulov also said that during his four months in Beijing, he has found that Russian products are becoming more popular in the Chinese market as well.

He noted that trade between Russia and China is expected to exceed the $200 billion target set by the two leaders this year, and may even be achieved earlier than expected.

A few days ago, according to Japanese media, as Western car manufacturers have announced their withdrawal from the Russian market, in consideration of future maintenance problems, more Russian people choose Chinese cars now.

China’s share of Russia’s new car market has been increasing, with European manufacturers shrinking from 27 per cent to 6 per cent over the past year, while Chinese manufacturers have surged from 10 per cent to 38 percent. 

According to Autostat, a Russian auto market analysis agency, Chinese auto makers have introduced a variety of models that are targeted at the long winter in Russia and the size of families, which are popular in the Russian market. The agency’s general manager, Sergei Selikov, said the quality of Chinese-branded cars has been improving, and Russian people bought a record number of Chinese-branded cars in 2022. 

In addition, Chinese household appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and washing machines are also actively exploring the Russian market. In particular, Chinese smart home products are favored by local people.