Russia plans to boost trade with China to $200bn by 2024

Trade turnover between Russia and China has been rapidly growing and is expected to reach $100 billion this year, according to the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow seeks to double the figure in the next six years.

“It is planned to increase Russia’s trade with China to $200 billion and Chinese investment in the Russian economy to $15 billion,”  said a document for the government’s activities for the period up to 2024.

The document, released on Thursday, also envisages boosting trade with other countries. Russia’s trade with India may reach $30 billion by 2024. Trade with the Middle East and North African nations is expected to amount to $50 billion, while trade with sub-Saharan countries could hit $7 billion, and Latin America, $20 billion.

China is Russia’s largest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of Russian international trade in 2017. Bilateral trade between the two countries grew by 31.5 percent, reaching $87 billion last year. They are also promoting settlements in ruble and yuan, bypassing the US dollar and other Western currencies.

In 2017, nine percent of payments for supplies from Russia to China were made in rubles; Russian companies paid 15 percent of Chinese imports in renminbi (yuan).

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Just three years ago, the numbers were two and nine percent, respectively. The two nations have also established a Russian-Chinese investment fund worth 68 billion yuan (almost $10 billion) to develop trade, economic investment, and scientific cooperation.

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