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During a meeting with Chinese Vice Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang on Monday, November 20, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said that by the end of 2023, annual trade exchanges between his country and China will exceed 200 billion US dollars and could reach US$300 billion by 2030. The statement was made at a meeting of the China-Russia Intergovernmental Investment Cooperation Committee in Beijing.

Belousov pointed out that the two sides had previously planned to reach a transaction volume of 200 billion US dollars in 2024, saying that this showed significant progress in the trade of minerals, chemicals, food, equipment and automobiles between the two countries.

On the other hand, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang reported that Beijing and Moscow are ready to promote investment cooperation between the two sides.

Ding Xuexiang said at the meeting: "Today we held the 10th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee. I would like to work with you to summarize the work in the field of investment cooperation between China and Russia over the past year, discuss the next key tasks, and promote the continuous development of China-Russia investment cooperation. Achieve new results.”
The Chinese official said this was his first time serving as co-chairman of the China Intergovernmental Committee.

Ding Xuexiang added: "I am willing to work with you to establish a trusting cooperative relationship and have in-depth exchanges on the sustainable development of Sino-Russian investment cooperation."

The China-Russia Intergovernmental Investment Cooperation Committee was established in 2014 to promote the implementation of investment projects and reduce administrative and commercial obstacles between the two countries.

Belousov said that 95% of all commercial transactions between the two countries are conducted in rubles and yuan.
In the middle of last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted that Russia's trade volume with China would reach US$200 billion by the end of this year, an increase of one-third from 2022.

At the end of last year, China-Russia trade volume increased by 29.3%, reaching a record level of approximately US$191 billion.

The presidents of Russia and China had previously planned to double trade between the two countries from $100 billion per year in 2018 to $200 billion in 2024.

China is a major importer of crude oil and natural gas from Russia, which is under Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, according to trade data between the two countries.

Russia is a major crude oil producer, with an average of 11 million barrels per day under normal circumstances, while China is the world's largest crude oil importer, with an average of 10 million barrels per day.

Russia's trade with China has doubled in recent years, and Moscow has shifted most of its exports, especially energy, to China and increased its purchases of cars, equipment and electronics from Beijing in light of Western sanctions.

Experts believe that increased cooperation with China will allow Russia to quickly recover from the impact of sanctions, and that converting most payments into rubles and yuan will protect transactions from external influences.