China-Russia Photo: VCG

Cooperation among localities and businesses in China and Russia has been gaining momentum at an impressive pace, showcasing notable vitality and confidence in bilateral economic ties across multiple sectors, against the backdrop of the ongoing top-level visit and a bustling array of bilateral trade promotion activities.

Experts noted that the strengthened cooperation between China and Russia ¬- both at the regional and business levels ¬- will inject robust impetus into the sustained, healthy, and stable development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

Analysts anticipate that the coordinated development between northeastern China and Russia's Far East region is poised to alter the economic development paradigm between the two countries and stimulate economic growth across East Asia.

The remarks were made amid the ongoing and highly anticipated state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to China on Thursday and Friday.  

President Putin will attend the China-Russia Expo, the highest-level exhibition between the two countries, which is also a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia this year.

The pivotal trade expo kicked off on Thursday in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, and will run until May 21. 

More than 1,400 enterprises from 44 countries and regions, as well as 21 provinces and municipalities in China, had registered to participate as of May 6. A total of 16 Russian federal entities are showcasing their businesses at the event in a bid to foster exchanges with China across diverse sectors, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

"As a leading Russian enterprise, our products have entered more than 200 chain supermarkets in China, with sales doubling annually," Evgeny Bazhov, general manager of Uniconf, a company in the Russian confectionery sector and the largest producer of sweets in Eastern Europe, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Bazhov said that the company expects to assist other Russian brands, newly entered, to tap the promising China market through such a high-level trade event. 

"Our products are available in more than 40,000 stores, with 150 Chinese distributors actively involved. We anticipate further business opportunities, particularly highlighting the potential of e-commerce in China's vast market," Bazhov said.

"China's market stands as our largest and most crucial market, as well as the most welcoming market for us," Alexey Solodov, vice president of the Russian Export Center, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Solodov noted that President Putin's visit to China is expected to inject fresh vitality into bilateral trade cooperation, forming the bedrock of China-Russia friendship and underpinning bilateral trade ties. 

"I firmly believe that our countries' trade cooperation will be further fortified," Solodov noted.

Apart from business ties, China and Russia vowed to increase cooperation at the locality level.

China's action plan to revitalize its northeastern region aligns with Russia's push for Far East Development. In light of their geographical proximity and economic synergy, the two regions have vast industrial and business potential, Sun Huijun, a veteran expert on China-Russia trade relations at the China-Russia Friendship Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Putin noted during the 8th Eastern Economic Forum, held in September 2023 in Vladivostok, Russia, that the bilateral relationship had entered its best period in history, with smooth development in various fields, stressing that the development of the Far East of Russia had become a new growth point for Russia-China cooperation, and economic relations.

China has been pursuing a policy of revitalizing the Northeast for several decades. The idea of mutual support for the development of Northeast China and the Russian Far East has been around for a long time, Alexander Lomanov, deputy director for Scientific Work, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"However, in the new environment, there has been increased focus on making it a reality. On the Russian side, there is a growing demand for new transportation routes and new industrial production in the Far East. The joint implementation of these plans will generate positive economic benefits in neighboring regions of both Russia and China," Lomanov added.

Global Times