Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to cooperate in a range of economic and business areas.
Prominent on the list was increasing the use of “local” currency, Chinese state media said. The Kremlin was more explicit in stating that the yuan and ruble already account for two-thirds of trade deal payments between the two countries.
China is already Russia’s largest trading partner. Official statements from both sides disclosed few details on numbers or timeline of implementation while noting the plan focused on the years up to 2030.
Xi went to Moscow in his first week in his state visit since gaining an unprecedented third term as president earlier this month- further consolidating his power, “The Russian side held a grand welcome ceremony at the airport,” China’s readout said. “The military band played the national anthems of China and Russia.”
As has been the case, Russia’s readout of the economic agreement went into more detail than Beijing’s.
While the Chinese side only said they would “commit to significantly increase bilateral trade volume by 2030,” the Kremlin release described the planned trade growth as “Multiple times over.”
China’s imports from Russia grew nearly by 29% last year in yuan terms to 763.45 billion yuan (110.89 billion), according to China customs data accessed through Wind Information. That’s faster than the roughly 28% increase in 2021.