MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Chinese President Xi Jinping during the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to raise the volume of bilateral trade to the level of $250 bln, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters following the talks.
"The volume of our trade turnover has already reached $140 bln, as was emphasized by the leaders during the talks. President Xi Jinping has already set a new goal for us in this regard - $250 bln," Peskov said.
Peskov noted that "this is not a lot for China, but for us it is a very, very ambitious goal, although we see how quickly we exceeded the 100 bln mark". "Therefore, $250 bln, as the volume of trade, is also quite realistic, given the current dynamics of the development of bilateral relations," Peskov said.
In terms of broadening the horizons of bilateral trade and economic relations, Peskov stated that the meeting resulted in the adoption of a unique road map prepared by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Commerce of China. According to him, implementing it will help raise the volume and scale of trade, as well as enhance its structure, notably by exploring new areas of collaboration. "Diversifying our trade turnover is extremely important and will probably help us reach fundamentally new levels," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Peskov highlighted substantial agreements on gas and oil that were established during the two leaders' conversations. He emphasized the expanding collaboration between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation, which inked a 25-year contract to supply the Chinese market with an additional 10 bln cubic meters of gas per year. In addition to the 50 mln tonnes of oil already exported in 2021, Rosneft has chosen to supply extra supplies to Chinese refineries.
Vaccines are another promising area of economic cooperation. "The first batches of Sputnik V have already been manufactured in China, scaling is currently underway, and a total of 150 mln doses have been contracted. Work continues and it is very effective," Peskov said.
The Amur Gas and Chemical complex and the joint production of cars by Sollers and Chery companies based on Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant were also discussed, as well as agriculture, where turnover fell by 7% amid the pandemic. "This is bad, for a number of categories - fish, seafood - our deliveries to China have fallen by more than 60%," Peskov added. According to him, Putin noted during the talks that it is necessary to offset this decline.
The Kremlin spokesman specified military-technical cooperation was also the subject of negotiations. "A delicate sector, it is well-developed, and it may serve as a confirmation of the two countries' special allied nature," he summed up.