China Targets $300 Billion in Annual Trade With Russia

By Staff, Agencies

China aims to increase its annual trade with Russia to $300 billion, Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui said on Monday.

"Our bilateral trade has exceeded $200 billion for three years in a row, and we are striving for the $300 billion mark," Zhang said at a business event during the Russian-Chinese Sprouts Forum in Kazan.

The ambassador said Russia-China relations have reached their highest level in history, while China has remained Russia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years.

Speaking to RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the event, former Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov, now a senator, said he expected bilateral trade to surpass the 2024 record of $245 billion by the end of this year and potentially exceed $250 billion.

The 4th Sprouts International Forum, titled "Sprouts: Russia and China, Mutually Beneficial Cooperation," is being held in Kazan from August 16 to 19, with its main business program beginning Monday.

The forum features more than 50 sessions across 19 areas, including artificial intelligence, drones, logistics, industrial cooperation, healthcare, finance, and agriculture.

The accompanying Russia-China Expo covers 4,000 square meters and showcases companies from the financial, IT, agricultural, industrial, educational, and medical sectors.

At the opening ceremony, Tatarstan Head Rustam Minnikhanov described the forum as a major platform for Russian-Chinese interregional cooperation, saying its results include new investment projects, agreements, joint production, and educational initiatives. He added that Tatarstan's trade with China reached a record $3.35 billion last year.

Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman Alexander Babakov said the forum's significance lies in its ability to "translate political trust between our countries" into concrete projects.

Head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Taliya Minullina expressed interest in establishing direct air links with China, proposing routes from Kazan to Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi'an.

A direct Kazan-Shanghai flight is already operating. The forum also includes a cultural program featuring dragon boat races, Sichuan opera performances, and Chinese film screenings.