VLADIVOSTOK, September 6. /TASS/. The mutual trade turnover between Russia and China over the past seven months has reached almost $93 billion and is expected to reach an all-time high of $170 bln by the end of the year, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov told reporters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
"In February, we signed a roadmap with our Chinese partners to increase trade in goods and services to $200 billion by 2024. Over the past seven months, we have seen an unprecedented growth in trade - by 25%. By the end of this year, we expect that our mutual trade with China will reach an all-time high and approach $170 billion," the minister said.
He added that these figures are confirmation of the joint work in many areas: resolving export-import problems and ensuring the uninterrupted supply of goods and the unhindered movement of goods through border checkpoints, despite the current COVID restrictions (which, among other things, affect the transportation of goods).
The minister also touched upon large projects, which are being implemented. In particular, oil and gas supplies are on the rise, he noted.
"We understand that today this is important both for the People's Republic of China, because it has a reliable energy supplier at an affordable predictable price that does not depend on spot, and for the Russian Federation - we have a guaranteed sales that allows us to recoup the significant investments that we have invested into infrastructure, and makes it possible to move further," Reshetnikov added.
The minister also said that the portfolio of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on investment cooperation includes 79 projects in various fields with a declared investment of over $160 billion. Chinese companies are involved in the implementation of projects in the gas sector, while projects in the transport sector are being discussed, he added.
Organized by the Roscongress Foundation, the Seventh Eastern Economic Forum will be running from September 5 to September 8 in Vladivostok. TASS is the event’s general information partner and its official photohost agency. This year, the theme of the forum is: "On the Path to a Multipolar World.".