China and Russia affirm multi-year economic cooperation

BEIJING—Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to cooperate in a wide range of economic and business areas, the two countries said Wednesday.

What stood out on the list was the increased use of “local” currencies, according to Chinese state media. The Kremlin made a clearer statement, saying that the yuan and ruble already make up two-thirds of his trade deal payments between the two countries.

Other areas covered by the agreement include expanding bilateral trade, cooperation in energy and food security, and developing rail and other cross-border logistics infrastructure.

China is already Russia’s largest trading partner. Official statements from both sides provide few details on the number of implementations or timelines, while focusing on plans that focus on the years up to 2030.

The confirmation of Russia-China economic cooperation came as the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia over its unprovoked aggression in Ukraine. While calling for peace talks, Beijing refuses to call it an invasion.

Xi further consolidated his power this week by traveling to Moscow for his first official visit since winning an unprecedented third term as president earlier this month. “The Russian side held a grand welcome ceremony at the airport,” the Chinese statement said. “The military band played the national anthems of China and Russia.”

As before, Russia’s reading of the economic pact was more detailed than Beijing’s.

The Chinese side only said it was “committing to significantly increase the volume of bilateral trade by 2030,” but the Kremlin’s announcement said the planned trade growth would be “more than several times.” explained.

China’s imports from Russia rose nearly 49 percent in yuan terms last year to 763.75 billion yuan ($110.89 billion), according to Chinese customs data obtained through Wind Information. This is a faster pace than the nearly 28% increase in 2021.

Speaking to another detail that the Chinese side did not mention, the Russian statement said, “In terms of investment, the two countries have put together a package of 80 important and promising bilateral projects worth about $165 billion in various fields.” said.

A Kremlin release said it “supports the use of the Chinese yuan in transactions between the Russian Federation and its partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America.”

Public figures show that RMB usage has risen into the low single digits, but the US dollar remains by far the dominant currency in global transactions.

The Chinese government is promoting currency internationalization and energy and food self-sufficiency.

China and Russia are expanding natural gas pipelines that supply parts of China. Beijing didn’t give details, but a Russian statement this week said he saw a 50% increase in gas supplies through the main “Power of Siberia” pipeline last year.

According to an official statement, the two countries have separately agreed to cooperate in the media. The Russian side said this would include co-production of television programs and other cooperation between the state media of the two countries.

According to the Kremlin, during his one-on-one meeting with Putin, Xi paid “considerable attention” to China’s plans for peace talks in Ukraine.

But according to Russian documents, Putin said it was up to “the West and Kiev” to show “readiness” to achieve a peaceful resolution.

On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of war crimes.

NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said: “The world will freeze war without a viable path to restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia, backed by China and others. Don’t let tactical moves fool you.” At a briefing earlier this week.

“If China wants to play a constructive role in this conflict, it should pressure Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and its sovereign territories,” Kirby said at the ensuing briefing. “They should urge Putin to stop bombing cities, hospitals and schools, end war crimes and atrocities and end war today. It can happen now.”

After meeting with Putin in Moscow, President Xi Jinping will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the invasion, The Wall Street Journal said last week, citing people familiar with the matter. reported.

China’s foreign ministry said only that China “is in contact with all relevant parties.”