• Tweeter

  • republish

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in September 2018 in Vladivostock, Russia during the Eastern Economic Forum. Mikhail Metzel / TASS Host Agency / Pool Photo via REUTERS

In Russia, the official visit of Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, is expected on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 June. This shift is focused on economic issues with a goal on the Russian side: attracting Chinese investment to boost a struggling economy.

With our correspondent in Moscow , Daniel Vallot

This is the great hope of Vladimir Putin since his country suffered the consequences of Western sanctions: rely on China to get the Russian economy out of the rut, develop exports, and attract investment. The Russian president is working hard to achieve this, but five years after the annexation of Crimea, Chinese investments in Russia are still waiting.

Russians hope to take advantage of Sino-US tensions

According to Alexei Maslov of the Russian School of Higher Economic Studies, this is due to the size of the Russian market: " I think there is a problem with the size of the Russian market: the Russian domestic market is not quite developed for the Chinese, especially in the Far East . That's why Chinese investors are not really interested in Russia. In addition, they are not familiar with the rules in force in Russia. On both sides, investors complain about the opacity of both systems, and the fact that they can not really cooperate. "

China is therefore reluctant to enter the Russian market. And even the "Silk Roads" project has not yet boosted Chinese investment in Russia. But now Russia can count on a new argument to seduce China: the open trade war between Beijing and Washington . Russia hopes to take advantage of this to open new markets in China. She also hopes that Chinese investors will finally decide to bet on its economy.