China To Boost Trade And Investment With Russia

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

15 October 2008

Senior trade officials in China and Russia have announced that they are aiming to increase investment opportunities between the two countries by introducing a set of measures aimed at boosting bilateral trade volumes.

Meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, Chinese Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming, and his Russian counterpart Elvira Nabiullina agreed to expand trade volumes in their aviation and machinery sectors in order to increase output.

The decision was made after recent figures showed that trade between the two countries hit a total of USD43bn this year after a 23% year-on-year increase.

The two ministers have also discussed expanding trade in other important areas, such as the electronic product and construction sectors.

Speaking of China's intention to broaden its trading opportunities with Russia, Mr Chen remarked that the current global economic conditions gave the discussions an even greater importance.

China is not alone in wooing Russia as a trade partner. Earlier this year, former EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson visited Moscow to meet with key members of the new Russian administration to discuss future bilateral trade negotiations.

Mandelson's visit focused on Russia's WTO accession, and also dealt with other bilateral and multilateral trade and economic issues.

On the visit, Commissioner Mandelson commented:

"I remain optimistic about the opportunities ahead for the EU-Russia partnership. Economic liberalisation and convergence will form the bedrock of that partnership. We need to create a strong, overarching framework and we need to see Russia in the WTO. "

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