China-Russia Trade Increasing Along With Import Of Russian Fuels - Ambassador

YEKATERINBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2023) Trade between Beijing and Moscow and China is expanding in line with bilateral targets, alongside an increase in the import of Russian energy carriers to China since the beginning of the year, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said on Tuesday.

"Trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia is developing both quantitatively and qualitatively. First of all, there has been a significant increase in trade volumes. China has been Russia's largest trade partner for the last 13 years," Zhang said at the 7th Russia-China Expo.

Russia, on the other hand, is China's main importer of coal, crude oil and gas, the ambassador said, pointing to the "good tendency for growth" in the import of Russian fuels to China since the beginning of 2023 and an increase in settlements in national currencies.

Bilateral trade can also expand on the back of agricultural cooperation, Zhang continued.

"For the first five months of this year there has been an 84% increase in import of Russian products to China. Not so long ago, the first shipment of Russian soy arrived at a checkpoint in Manchuria as a part of a new China-Russia land corridor project," the ambassador said.

The Chinese ambassador lauded bilateral relations with Russia for their "maximum degree of mutual trust, highest level of coordination and greatest strategic value." He said bilateral trade exceeded $90 billion in the first six months of 2023, which provides a firm basis for achieving the $200 billion mutual target.

In February 2022, Russia and China adopted a roadmap to increase bilateral trade in goods and services to $200 billion by 2024.