As Russia faces heightened isolation from the West over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said Saturday it expects the flow of goods with China to continue to grow, with trade with China reaching $200 billion by 2024.
Reuters reported that Georgiy Zinoviev, head of the Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Russia’s Interfax news agency on April 30 that Russia was concentrating on reaching the deadline set by the leaders of the two countries by 2024.
China and Russia have strengthened relations between the two countries in recent years, including an announcement in February when Putin visited Beijing that there was “no ceiling” for the partnership.
The recent lockdown in China over the outbreak of the virus is also a factor that complicates the goal of both sides.
After some Western companies withdraw, Chinese companies will get more opportunities. But despite this, Sino-Russian cooperation is likely to grow significantly.
Zinoviev said Chinese businessmen must act cautiously to avoid joint sanctions. But he is sure that Russia and its partners will be able to take advantage of the current situation to gain common interests and tap the potential of cooperation in all fields to significantly increase cooperation.
Russia expects trade with China to reach $200 billion in 2024
According to Agence France-Presse, most countries in the world have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and many countries have joined Europe and the United States to sanction Russia. However, China neither condemns nor participates in the sanctions. On the contrary, China has continued to develop close relations with Russia, seriously undermining the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia by the international community.
The report said that instead of keeping silent on running counter to the international community, China also flaunted its successful relationship with Russia, calling Sino-Russian relations a model of international relations.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on April 29 that one of the successful experiences of Sino-Russian relations is that the two sides have gone beyond the military-political alliance model during the Cold War and have always adhered to the principle of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third parties. International Relations.
Russia’s Trade Expanding With China
This is the model China has implemented globally, from Southeast Asia to Africa to Venezuela, doing business with oppressive regimes. While the United States and Western countries reject it, China has pushed hard to do business with oppressive and corrupt regimes in Africa.
Although Beijing and Moscow have no political alliance, the two sides have a parallel political agenda, the report said. Russia hopes to unify the former Soviet republics with Russia’s mother country; while China hopes to unify Taiwan, and at the same time hopes to turn the South China Sea into China’s territory, extending its influence from Pakistan to Sri Lanka to Africa.
Still, China’s close relationship with Russia has become a major concern for Americans. According to a new poll released by Pew Research, 62% of Americans believe that the partnership between China and Russia poses a serious problem. The poll also showed that 82 percent of Americans have a negative view of China, with 40 percent having a severely negative view. This is the highest since 2020.
The report said that this is very bad for the prospects of economic relations between the United States and its allies and China. And that relationship is far more important than the trade relationship with Russia. The report said that China needs to consider whether it can withstand the risk of damaging relations with Europe and the United States, which account for 30% of its export market, Russia, which accounts for 5% of its export market, and whether it can withstand being isolated by European and American technology and stand in history again. the wrong side.