Development of Russian-Chinese economic relations discussed in Vladivostok

A business dialogue on "Russian-Chinese cooperation in a new era" was held on 7 September as part of the Eastern Economic Forum. The round table was moderated by Sergey Sanakoev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society (RCFS), and Zhou Liqun, Chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia.

"The Russo-Chinese strategic partnership of a comprehensive nature is entering a new era, and we will try today in our session to reveal what the new era is about, what challenges we face and what solutions we propose. Of course, one of the most important options for resolving our issues is to build mutual trust. And it is obvious that the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, is well suited for this role," said Sergei Sanakoev, moderator of the meeting.

Zhang Hanhui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Russian Federation, was the first speaker at the round table. He called the EEF the most important platform for discussing economic cooperation among the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Ambassador also stressed that Russia-China relations have entered the best period of their development in their history: "Under the strategic leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, our bilateral relations between Russia and China have entered the best period of development in their history, becoming an exemplary relationship of two great powers."

Zhang Hanhui noted that China remains Russia's main trade partner: "For 12 years, China has remained Russia's main partner. From January to July this year, trade between the two countries reached US$97.7 billion. The increase is 29%. China's imports from Russia are up 49% and have outpaced the increase in bilateral trade by 20%".

Aleksey Dakhnovsky, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation to the People's Republic of China, took part in the business dialogue. He noted the need for greater mutual distribution of national payment systems - UnionPay in Russia and MIR in China: "At a minimum, this could give an impetus to cross-border e-commerce".

During the dialogue, the experts also noted the need to develop cooperation between Russia and China in the energy and service sectors.