Investment cooperation between Russia and China demonstrates good dynamics

On Monday, 5 December, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin and Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang held a meeting of the Heads of Government of Russia and China via videoconference.

During the discussion, the parties touched upon a number of topical issues related to the development of partnerships and summed up the results of recent cooperation. Mishustin noted the good results achieved on the economic track, especially in mutual trade.

“Russian-Chinese trade is showing double-digit growth. For 10 months of this year, it increased by almost a third and approached $150 billion. This is already higher than the figures for the entire last year,” the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation said.

He added that in the future, as agreed by the leaders of the two countries, this figure will reach $200 billion and continue to grow further. In addition, the energy partnership has acquired a strategic character.

“Supplies of natural gas, oil and coal are growing. In China, the construction of nuclear power plants with Russian participation continues. We are ready to ensure the fulfillment of all existing contractual obligations and work on new large-scale initiatives in this area,” Mishustin emphasized.

He also mentioned that investment cooperation has received a new vector of development - the portfolio of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission includes 79 significant and promising projects. The total amount of announced investments exceeds $160 billion.

One of the most important recent achievements the parties called the systematic transition to settlements in national currencies. At the moment, almost half of the trade between Russia and China is carried out in yuan and rubles.

“We are systematically cooperating in the payment sector, as well as on bank cards. Many of our banks have already connected to each other's payment system, which is very important for the smooth functioning of production and supply chains,” said Li Keqiang.

The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China added that China is also interested in further intensifying cooperation in the areas of interregional cooperation and cultural and humanitarian ties.

In addition, the parties discussed cooperation in the field of transport, digital technologies, green economy and space. This was reported on the official website of the Russian government.