According to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs of China a few days ago, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia reached 75.489 billion US dollars in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 28% year-on-year.
Under the epidemic situation, Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation has advanced against the trend, showing an all-round and high-level development trend. The volume and quality have been improved simultaneously, and new results have been continuously achieved.
Good momentum-
Cooperation in various fields is advancing steadily
On the morning of August 17, with the completion of the installation of the last set of track cleats for the quasi-gauge interface, the first cross-river railway bridge between China and Russia, Tongjiang—the following Ningsquaye Railway Bridge (hereinafter referred to as "Tongjiang Railway Bridge") realized track laying The connection has laid a solid foundation for the opening and operation of the entire bridge.
The Tongjiang Railway Bridge connects to the three northeastern provinces in the south and radiates across the country. It connects to the following Ningskoye Port in Russia and the Russian Far East Railway through the Tongjiang Port to the north, and it can lead to the Russian hinterland to the west. It not only adds a new railway transportation channel between China and Russia. , Will also open up a new Eurasian combined transport channel from West to Europe, which is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of Sino-Russian economic and trade.
According to estimates, the annual cargo handling capacity of the Tongjiang Railway Bridge is approximately 21 million tons.
Its opening and operation is a microcosm of the continuous development of Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation.
In terms of investment and project cooperation, in the first five months of this year, China’s direct investment in Russia’s non-financial finance increased by 48.3%, and the value of newly signed projects increased by 93%. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the construction of an international lunar research station.
Ivan Danilin, head of the scientific innovation department of the Primakov Institute of World Economics and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, recently stated that the investment of Chinese high-tech enterprises in Russia has increased significantly in the past two years, not only because of the expansion of cooperation, but also The degree is also deepening.
It is worth noting that the renminbi is increasingly recognized and favored by Russia.
Statistics from the Russian Central Bank and Customs show that the renminbi accounts for more than 17% of Sino-Russian bilateral trade settlements and more than 12% of Russia’s international reserves.
This shows that the two countries have made positive progress in promoting the diversification of bilateral trade settlement, and the role of local currency as a means of payment has gradually increased.
Russian Finance Minister Siluanov stated at this year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the State Welfare Fund of the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund will optimize its investment structure and increase RMB assets.
Yaroslav Lisovolik, project director of the Russian think tank "Valdai" International Debate Club, believes that China's economy is playing an increasing role in the global economy. The increase in the share of RMB assets in the Russian National Welfare Fund reflects the growing closeness of the two countries. Economic and trade ties.
Strong resilience——
Key projects are progressing smoothly
Recently, the "Cloud Open Day" event was held at the construction site of the Moscow Metro Michurin Station project.
Through the lens, the host Akmao led the audience to visit Michurin Station, the "New Landmark of Sino-Russian Friendship".
The Michulin Station project is the first time that Russia has introduced foreign companies in the construction of the subway.
After 4 years of construction, the main structure of the station and section has been completed.
To pay tribute to the Chinese builders, the decoration design of Miqiulin Station incorporates traditional Chinese elements such as moire, Tuan Shou and Chinese Red.
In the interactive process of promoting economic development through project construction, China and Russia have also achieved positive results in engineering service cooperation, technical standard cooperation, and energy industry financial integration cooperation.
As a key project of concern to the Chinese and Russian governments, in July this year, the tunnel between the Maple Avenue Station and the No. 2 working shaft of the East Section of the Moscow Metro’s Third Interchange Ring Line, a large shield project undertaken by China Railway Construction, was completed. This is the first Chinese company in Europe. The first tunnel of a large-diameter shield project was completed, realizing a leap forward for Chinese technology, Chinese management, and Chinese equipment to enter the European market.
A few days ago, China Railway Construction also signed a contract for the subway superstructure project of two subway stations with the Moscow Engineering Institute. This is also the first time a Chinese company has signed a contract for a Russian subway superstructure complex project.
The construction of major projects of Chinese companies in Russia continues to advance, and new large orders are constantly being signed.
The construction of the "Huaming Garden" of the Moscow China Trade Center was completed at the beginning of the year.
Recently, the consortium formed by China Energy Construction International Corporation and North China Institute signed the EPC contract for the 860 MW gas-steam combined cycle power plant project in the Republic of Mordovia, Russia. The contract value is approximately US$660 million. This is China’s largest single-unit capacity in Russia. Thermal power projects.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov believes that the Eurasian Economic Union and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative will have a bright future.
Great potential——
Trade volume is expected to hit a new high
China-Russia economic and trade cooperation has risen against the trend, showing great potential and stamina.
More and more Chinese products have established an image of high quality and cost-effective in Russia.
In the Chinese market, Russian "net celebrity" products are also increasing.
Russian meat products, flour, vegetable oil, seafood, honey, sweets and other products are gradually on the Chinese people's table.
In 2020, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia reached 107.77 billion U.S. dollars, exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. China continues to be Russia's largest trading partner.
China’s exports of mobile phones, laptops, and auto parts to Russia have performed well. Russian crude oil, natural gas, coal, vegetable oil and other products have been actively exported to China. New businesses such as cross-border e-commerce have developed steadily.
The rapid development of Sino-Russian agricultural product trade is another highlight of the pragmatic cooperation between the two sides.
According to data from the Russian Agricultural Products Export Center, in the first half of this year, Russia exported 1.88 billion US dollars in agricultural products to China, and China is still the largest importer of Russian agricultural products.
Among them, meat imports increased significantly.
According to a report by the Industry Knowledge Center of the Russian Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Service, China imported 3,700 tons of Russian beef in the first quarter of 2021, 20 times that of the same period last year.
At present, realizing the high-quality development of trade in goods and services has become the goal of the joint efforts of China and Russia.
In order to meet the fast-developing cargo transportation needs of the two countries, Russian Railways plans to modernize the Baikal-Amur Railway and the Siberian Railway, the backbone of the Far East Railway, by 2023.
In April of this year, the Russian section of the Manzhouli-Zabaikalsk border port has completed the electrification of the railway line.
Since May, the volume of traffic passing through Russia and China through this port has increased significantly.
Alexei Shilo, deputy general manager of Russian Railways, said that the company is studying three railway branch plans from the Altai Republic to China.
Some experts believe that in the post-epidemic era, Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation has great potential. The two sides need to further expand two-way investment, strengthen cooperation in strategic large projects, and use technological innovation as a new growth point for bilateral cooperation; at the same time, they will continue to deepen local cooperation and make good use of lines. A new model of online and offline cooperation.
It is estimated that the scale of Sino-Russian trade is expected to reach a new high in 2021.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with our reporter, "China-Russia economic and trade cooperation is basically stable and contains high gold content. We are fully confident in the overall positive development of bilateral cooperation and new growth in trade this year."
(Our newspaper, Moscow, August 27th)
Our reporter Yu Hongjian and Sui Xin