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Russia-China trade volume may reach $185-190 bln in 2022 — trade representative

As Alexey Dakhnovsky said, there are so many variables that may change the volume of trade in any direction

BEIJING, August 5. /TASS/. The volume of bilateral trade between Russia and China may reach $185-190 bln at the end of 2022, Russia’s trade representative in China Alexey Dakhnovsky told reporters about this on Friday.

"As for forecasts, this is a thankless task, especially in the current situation, there are so many variables that may change in any direction," he said in response to a question about when Russia and China will be able to accomplish their $200 bln bilateral trade target.

According to him, variables can include "goods prices, anti-pandemic efforts, and the timing of the restart of trade in services." "When talking about a goal, people often confuse trade turnover and the volume of bilateral trade," the trade representative said. He noted that "trade turnover only covers trade in goods and excludes trade in services, which before the pandemic amounted to more than $14 bln and has declined dramatically 1.5-2-fold." He noted that currently "tourism has completely stopped."

"I believe that this year we will reach $185-190 bln, and the figure could be higher next year. Regardless of this, I am confident that the goal set by the two countries' leaders will be met, simply because we are neighbors and will develop bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and in the face of the breakdown of old supply chains, China's role as a trading partner is increasing," Dakhnovsky said.

The authorities of Russia and China have set the goal of bringing the volume of bilateral trade up to $200 bln a year. In June of this year, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said that the annual trade turnover between Russia and China could reach $200 bln ahead of schedule, by the end of 2022.

At the end of 2021, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 35.8% to $146.88 bln.