During the visit, the two heads of state signed and issued the "Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination in the New Era" and the "Joint Statement on the Development Plan for the Key Directions of Sino Russian Economic Cooperation before 2030", making plans and arrangements for the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields in the next stage.
Experts generally said that this visit fully demonstrates the high importance China attaches to the development of Sino Russian relations, highlighting Russia's unique position in China's diplomatic layout and "circle of friends". Over the past 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China Russia relations have steadily improved, achieving a historic leap from "treating each other as friendly countries" to "China Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era", in which head of state diplomacy has played a key role in strategic guidance and navigation orientation.
Sergei Sanakoev, Vice President of the Russia-China Friendship Association, said that the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between Russia and China in the new era has maintained a high level of operation in recent years, benefiting from the long-term close communication between the two heads of state, and the comprehensive high-level exchanges have provided strategic guidance for the development of bilateral relations. Alexei Maslov, dean of the Asia Africa School of Moscow State University in Russia, believes that this visit will promote more diversified trade between Russia and China, strengthen cooperation in science, technology, finance, and other fields, and deepen coordination and cooperation between the two countries in international relations and building a multipolar world pattern.
Since last year, in the face of a complex external environment, China Russia relations have always maintained vitality and vitality, and bilateral cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, investment, energy, science and technology, humanities, and local areas has been comprehensively and deeply developed. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia exceeded 190 billion US dollars, an increase of 116% compared to 10 years ago. China has become Russia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. In the first two months of this year, Sino Russian trade continued to grow rapidly, with bilateral trade volume reaching US $33.69 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%, achieving a "good start". Among them, China's exports to Russia amounted to $15.04 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.8%, and its imports from Russia amounted to $18.65 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%.
"Energy trade plays a 'ballast stone' role in bilateral trade." Jiang Yi, a researcher at the Russian Institute of Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China Trade News that the Sino Russian natural gas pipeline has added important weight to ensure the continuous increase in the volume of Sino Russian trade. The oil and gas resource cooperation between the two sides has not been greatly impacted and affected during the epidemic, and pipeline transportation has instead played a unique advantage. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, Russia's LNG exports to China increased by 43.9% to 6.5 million tons in 2022, while oil exports increased by 8.3% to 86.25 million tons. In addition, the close cooperation between China and Russia in the field of anti epidemic materials such as masks and protective clothing has expanded the volume of trade between the two countries to a certain extent.
Jiang Yi expressed that agricultural product trade is also a highlight in bilateral trade between China and Russia. According to the data from the Agricultural Products Export Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the export volume of Russian agricultural products to China increased by 36% and the export volume increased by 44% in 2022. China has once again become the largest importer of Russian agricultural products, maintaining its status as the largest importer of Russian rapeseed oil, poultry meat, beef, soybeans, oats, and flaxseed, and becoming the largest importer of Russian honey and flaxseed oil. According to the data from the Russian Customs Administration, the export volume of Russian rapeseed oil to China will double in 2022, with the export volume increasing by 140%; Soybean exports to China remained unchanged from 2021, with exports increasing by 55%; The export volume of vegetable oil meal and Youbing (Deep-fried round and flat dough-cake) increased by 15 times, and the export volume increased by 6.7 times; Exports of 139000 tons of poultry meat to China increased by 11% year-on-year, while exports increased by 53%.
In the field of investment, Chinese enterprises are extending their investment in Russia from traditional energy, agricultural and forestry development, to more fields such as automobiles, household appliances, food processing, etc. According to Autostat, a Russian automotive market analysis agency, Chinese automotive companies have accurately launched multiple models based on the characteristics of the Russian market, which is popular in the Russian market. Last September, Russia's first electric vehicle factory was officially put into production, with auto parts from China. At the end of last year, the production line of the "Muscovite" automobile factory resumed operation, mainly producing electric and hybrid vehicles, with relevant new energy technologies mainly coming from China. According to statistics, by the end of last year, the number of Chinese brand car dealers in Russia had reached 1041.
In terms of connectivity, Li Yan, an assistant researcher of the Chinese Academy of International Studies, said that the "the Belt and Road" initiative launched by China and the docking and cooperation of the "Eurasian Economic Union" led by Russia have achieved rich results, and the level of connectivity between the two countries has continued to improve. Last June, the first Sino Russian highway bridge across the Heihe River, the Blagoveshensk Highway Bridge, was officially opened to traffic. This bridge is a major cross-border infrastructure project that the heads of state of the two countries are jointly concerned about and promoting. Its opening has opened up a new international transportation channel between Northeast China and the Far East of Russia, becoming a symbol of the construction of cross-border connectivity between China and Russia.
In addition, China Russia people-to-people and cultural cooperation has continued to deepen. According to the data released at the 23rd meeting of the China Russia Committee for Cultural and Cultural Cooperation, over the past five years, the two sides have successively held three national years with the themes of local cooperation, scientific and technological innovation, and sports exchanges. A total of nearly 2000 various activities have been carried out, and the number of cooperative educational institutions and projects between the two sides has increased to 116, and cooperation in various fields has continued to deepen. In 2022, the China Russia Youth Forum, the Chinese Bridge Competition, and the Chinese Ambassador's Cup Go Competition were held in Russia. The "Russian Culture Festival" held by Russia in China also received widespread attention from the Chinese people, and the colorful cultural activities became a bridge to deepen the friendship between the two peoples.
"Digital economy, green development, biomedicine, etc. will become the priority directions for the future development of Sino Russian economic and trade cooperation, injecting new impetus into the economic development of China and Russia." Zhou Liqun, President of the China General Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said that in February last year, the two countries signed the "Road Map for the High Quality Development of Sino Russian Trade in Goods and Services", making path plans for achieving bilateral trade goals. In the future, enterprises of the two countries will further carry out investment cooperation in low-carbon energy and green infrastructure, actively promote green technology innovation, and jointly create new growth points for Sino Russian economic and trade cooperation.
