Chinese companies in Russia have confidence in prospects of economic cooperation between two nations: chamber
By Published: Mar 22, 2023 05:47 PM Updated: Mar 22, 2023 05:37 PM
China Russia Photo:VCG
The friendship between China and Russia has brought "opportunities and development" to Chinese enterprises, Zhou Liqun, president of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia, told the Global Times on Tuesday, saying that Chinese firms in Russia have confidence in the broad prospects of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The comment comes following the release of the Joint Statement of the President of the People's Republic of China and the President of the Russian Federation on Pre-2030 Development Plan on Priorities in China-Russia Economic Cooperation at the Kremlin, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.
In the statement, the two sides pledged to carry out economic cooperation in multiple key directions, including expanding their trade scale, optimizing overall trade structure and developing e-commerce and other innovative modes of cooperation.
They are committed to improving financial cooperation, and steadily increasing the proportion of local currency settlement used in bilateral trade, investment, loans and other economic and trade transactions so as to meet the market demand.
Exchanges between the two heads of state are like a "compass" for the direction of China-Russia relationship, Zhou said, noting that the visit will fully unleash the huge potential of the two nations' trade cooperation.
Zhou expected that offline exchanges at varied levels between the two countries will usher in a new climax after the visit, and all-round practical cooperation will enter "a new stage of great development."
During the recent years, China-Russia economic and trade cooperation has withstood the impact of external uncertainty and the pandemic, displaying strong resilience, Zhou said, detailing that strategic large-scale projects in the fields of energy, nuclear energy, aviation, aerospace, and infrastructure are all advancing well.
Cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, digital economy, biomedicine, green and low-carbon and other emerging fields has also gained pace, Zhou said.
Bilateral trade between China and Russia in 2022 rose 34.3 percent year-on-year to a record high of 1.28 trillion yuan ($190 billion) in yuan-denominated terms in 2022, according to Chinese customs.
The momentum continued in the first two months of this year, with trade between China and Russia surging by 36.4 percent to hit 232.5 billion yuan, demonstrating the strong growth momentum of bilateral economic cooperation.
Looking forward, Zhou said Chinese-funded enterprises will work with Russian partners in sectors ranging from automobiles, construction machinery, mechanical as well as electrical products, and cooperation in overseas industrial parks, supply chains, industrial chain docking, modern logistics, local currency settlement, financial services, and pragmatic cooperation between the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union will be further promoted.
"We will continue to make efforts in the two initiatives' docking, continue to inject new impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries," said Zhou.
The goal to increase bilateral trade volume to $200 billion is expected to be achieved ahead of schedule, Zhou said.
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