The 10^th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Andrei Belousov from Russia’s side and by Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of China Ding Xuexiang from China’s side was held in Beijing.

“Today Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation have reached an unprecedented high level and continue developing in all areas. They are built on a firm foundation of mutual respect, equality, and trust, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and cooperation in each other’s development and prosperity,” Andrei Belousov noted.

The first deputy prime minister added that President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping set a goal during their two personal meetings this year to further promote investment cooperation. The commission’s overall goal is to implement the agreements reached at the highest level, he added.

“China is our key partner in trade and investment. Since the beginning of 2023, our trade has grown by a third. According to our estimates, by the end of the year we will exceed $200 billion, which we had planned to reach later, in 2024. By 2030, this indicator will reach $300 billion,” First Deputy Prime Minister said.

The amount of mutual transactions in national currencies between Russia and China is growing, with 95 percent of all transactions carried out in the rouble or the yuan. Investment cooperation between Russia and China is expanding. New joint investment projects in priority sectors such as automotive engineering, mining and the oil and gas industry, agriculture, logistics, and ICT are being initiated.

“Due to the range of Western companies leaving the Russian market, new opportunities are opening for our Chinese partners to participate with large Russian oil and gas, petrochemical, and automotive engineering enterprises, as well as companies producing commodities, glass products, and construction materials,” Andrei Belousov added. He stressed the importance of implementing the proposals made at the commission meeting.

During his visit to Beijing, the First Deputy Prime Minister also met with the heads of the Chinese companies participating in the Russia-China Consultation Committee, which functions under the Intergovernmental Commission.

The Russian delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, VEB.RF, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev, Primorye Territory Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, as well as the heads of companies and business associations.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev, head of the secretariat of the Russian delegation, reviewed the activities of the commission secretariats and outlined further plans. New joint projects were selected, and a number of them were agreed upon for implementation. Mr Ilyichev noted that the final approval process for the updated plan for investment cooperation between Russia and China was currently underway; it is scheduled to be approved in 2024.

The Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development proposed a new practice to conduct joint on-site reviews by the commission secretariats to assess the progress of projects and discuss support measures.

“This could become a new and effective mechanism for promoting these projects,” Vladimir Ilyichev said.