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China, Russia trade prospects 'upbeat'

By He Yini (chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2016-03-08 20:00:39

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Trade volume between China and Russia will soon see an upturn despite a sharp fall last year, Li Hui, Chinese ambassador to Russia and also a deputy to the National People's Congress, said.

"We are confident about the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries," he said during the two sessions. "The trade volume declined just temporarily, and will rally soon."

Statistics show trade between the two countries was $64.2 billion in 2015, down 27.8 percent from the previous year, according to an earlier report by Xinhua News Agency.

The agency quoted Commerce Minister Shen Danyang as saying "the decline was mainly attributed to external factors, including sluggish global demand and weak commodity prices, particularly crude oil."

Despite the drop, China continued to be Russia's largest trading partner and bilateral trade accounted for 12 percent of the latter's foreign trade last year, up from 11.3 percent in 2014.

Li said the two countries should cooperate and integrate more in trade and economic development, especially for the bordering areas, as China is pushing forward the Belt and Road strategy and international cooperation of industrial capacity.

China and Russia reached a large number of agreements of strategic significance in high-speed railway projects, the development of wide-body aircraft, as well as agreements in the fields of e-commerce and agriculture.

Han Changfu, the agricultural minister, said the two countries will continue to expand bilateral cooperation on agriculture, including investment, trade and technological outcomes.