Ushakov said China's leadership in the list of Russia's trade partners
China is in first place in the list of Russia's trade partners, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on January 21.
"China ranks first in our foreign trade partners, Russia ranks fifth among China's trade counterparts. The scale of financial cooperation is increasing: already over 95 [percent] of settlements are made in rubles and yuan. A large number of joint investment projects are being implemented," he said at a briefing after telephone talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
According to Ushakov, the two leaders paid considerable attention to the issues of trade and economic cooperation and expressed satisfaction with its dynamics in the conditions of Western sanctions.
In addition to trade, this is especially noticeable in the spheres of energy, industry and transportation, as well as in new areas - the development of artificial intelligence, quantum physics and innovative materials, the Russian presidential aide pointed out.
In addition, Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the organization of major joint energy projects. Thus, it was noted that the construction of the Far Eastern gas export route is on schedule, new initiatives are being worked out - for example, "Power of Siberia - 2" - and the construction of Russian-style power units at two Chinese nuclear power plants is underway.
Putin and Xi Jinping held talks earlier in the day via video link. During them, the Russian leader said that trade turnover between the two countries increased by 7% to $220 billion in 11 months, and according to the Chinese side for the year - up to $245 billion. He also drew attention to the leadership of the Russian Federation in the supply of oil and natural gas to China.
In turn, the head of China said that Beijing is ready to bring relations with Russia to a new height in 2025.
Before that, on January 20, it became known that in 2024 China increased imports of Russian oil by 1.3% to 108.47 million tons. The volume of Russian LNG supplies also increased by 3.3% to 8.3 million tons during this period.
