BEIJING, August 20. /TASS/. China sees risks for implementing joint projects and developing trade with Russia over the ruble’s sharp fall, Director of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department at China’s Ministry of Commerce Ling Zhi said on Friday.

"This is possible I would say. The risk exists," he said.

The ruble has fallen by 22% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year. The ruble’s decline accelerated with the resumed fall in world oil prices in recent weeks.

China plans to take part in several large-scale projects with Russia, in particular, the construction of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway link.

The ruble’s fall and the general deterioration of the Russian economy have also affected the exports of Chinese goods to Russia, which declined by 36% in the first half of 2015.

‘This is a very serious challenge for Chinese producers. The fall in the ruble exchange rate is seriously affecting our exports," the Chinese official said, adding the Russian national currency was weakening amid the growing costs of workforce in China.

China also devalued the national currency in the first half of August but only by 5%, stressing that the need to stimulate exports was not a cause for the currency’s devaluation.

Many of Chinese companies’ export contracts are paid by installment, which is an additional risk factor for China’s business people, the ministry official said.