Team for a pass: Russia and China have agreed to improve the structure of trade

Russia and China will modernize border checkpoints and expand the list of transported goods, according to a communique following the 30th regular meeting of the heads of government of the two countries, Mikhail Mishustin and Li Qiang. There are plans to change the structure of trade turnover towards agricultural products and primary processed goods. In Beijing, Mishustin was also received by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. At the meeting, they agreed to create conditions for attracting investments, provide each other with firm mutual support and deepen cooperation in the field of high technologies. Read about Mikhail Mishustin's visit to China in the Izvestia article.

What did the head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the PRC agree on?

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting in Beijing. The conversation took place in the Great Oriental Hall in the House of National Assemblies, a traditional venue for diplomatic receptions.

The fact that this was not a technical meeting was indicated by the composition of the participants in the negotiations. On the Russian side, there are four deputy prime ministers, ministers of agriculture, economic development, finance and transport, as well as the deputy chairman of the Central Bank. The Chinese side was represented by the Foreign Minister, the Ministers of Commerce and Finance and the Chairman of the State Committee for Development and Reform of the People's Republic of China, as well as relevant representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mikhail Mishustin noted that this meeting builds on the agreements reached at the highest level in May in Moscow and in September in Beijing.

"I would like to take this opportunity to convey to you the warmest greetings and best wishes from President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," said the head of the Russian government.

In response, the Chinese President congratulated Mikhail Mishustin and members of the Russian government on the occasion of National Unity Day on November 4.

Russia and China should continue to create favorable conditions for attracting mutual investments, the Russian Prime Minister stressed.

Currently, about 80 major investment projects in various industries totaling over $200 billion are being implemented between the countries. And the Russian regions have 117 direct agreements with the Chinese provinces. The Russian Federation does not have such a large number of agreements with any other country.

— Yesterday, the thirtieth regular meeting of the heads of government of Russia and China was held in Hangzhou. We discussed all the relevant issues on the bilateral agenda, outlined new tasks to strengthen trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation between our countries," Mishustin said.

In a communique published after the talks, the parties indicated that "they will always provide each other with firm mutual support on issues affecting their key interests and serious concerns." In particular, the Russian Federation reaffirmed its commitment to the "one China" principle, and Beijing supported Russian efforts to ensure security and stability.

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The countries will also continue to respond appropriately to external challenges and are ready to jointly combat the revision of the results of the Second World War and the falsification of its history. In addition, the governments of Russia and China have advocated the expansion of flights between the two countries.

Economically, Moscow and Beijing have agreed to improve the structure of trade by exploiting the potential of such growth points in bilateral trade as e-commerce, agriculture, and primary processed products. To do this, work will continue on the creation of a "smart customs". The parties agreed to take measures to improve the infrastructure of the checkpoints, optimize the operating mode and increase efficiency.

The audience of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with Chinese President Xi Jinping should rather be considered as a regular event — it is a normal practice when heads of government meet with the head of the host state during their trips, Andrei Fedotov, a junior researcher at the Chinese Economy and politics sector at the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

"Such meetings allow us to briefly compare hours and discuss the most relevant topics, acting as an additional channel of communication between the leaders of the states," the expert noted.

This is not Xi Jinping's first meeting with representatives of Russia this year. In February, the Chinese president received the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, and in July he spoke with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The triangle of Russia — China — USA

It is noteworthy that the visit of the head of the Russian government took place after the talks between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The American leader previously stated that he intends to put pressure on Russia's largest trading partners, India and China, to force them to abandon Russian energy resources. Beijing and New Delhi rejected such attempts.

The policies of Moscow and Beijing are characterized by the presence of similar positions on many global and regional issues, including disagreement with the attempts of the United States to secure its position in the international arena, which is called "hegemony" in Russian and Chinese political discourses, Andrei Fedotov believes.

— This does not mean that countries would not like to normalize their relations with Washington. So, quite recently, China and the United States agreed on a "truce" in the trade war for one year, and in general, there is a decrease in tension in Sino-American relations, at least if we compare the current state of affairs with the period of Joe Biden's presidency, the political scientist emphasized.

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The restoration of dialogue is often perceived by outside observers as a chance to develop relations with the United States "against" someone else. For example, in 2018, Henry Kissinger suggested that Trump develop cooperation with Russia in order to divide Moscow and Beijing. However, this understanding of relations between Russia and China is incorrect, and a sharp cooling of bilateral relations is not likely.

Fedotov summarized that Moscow and Beijing have gone through different states of bilateral relations in the history of their interaction and have learned a lesson from history: given their role and opportunities in international relations, it is much more profitable for Russia and China to maintain warm and good-neighborly contacts.

New projects from Russia and China

The talks with the Chinese leader are an opportunity to discuss the main areas of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. The main thing, of course, remains the trade in energy resources. In 2024, China imported about 213 million tons of oil and 246 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia — 1.8% and 6.2% more than a year earlier.

In the same year, the volume of daily Russian gas supplies via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China once again reached its maximum. During Vladimir Putin's visit to China on September 2, 2025, Gazprom and CNPC signed a legally binding memorandum on the construction of the Power of Siberia–2 gas pipeline through Mongolia. The implementation of this large-scale project will allow increasing gas exports from Russia to China to 50 billion cubic meters in the coming years. m per year.

Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund and an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia that Russia's resource base is sufficient to build five such gas pipelines. Gazprom can produce about 100 billion cubic meters at its existing fields, and additional volumes have appeared due to reduced supplies to the EU.

— I think that in the end this project will be built, the question is when and on what terms. There are still details of the parameters of the commercial contract, as well as the issue of financing," the expert noted.

Currently, the Xudapu nuclear power plant with a VVER-1200 reactor is being built in Liaoning Province in northeastern China according to a Russian design. Power units at the Tianwan NPP are also being built in China under the Rosatom project. As Yushkov emphasized, Moscow and Beijing are becoming competitors in the construction of nuclear power plants in other countries. However, cooperation will continue in research, including thermonuclear fusion, fuel cycle closure, and others.

The technological future is also connected with the use of artificial intelligence. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, Xi Jinping proposed to the international community to create a global organization for cooperation in the field of AI. According to Vladimir Shapovalov, Deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, Russia is interested in creating such a structure and can make a great contribution to its work. By the way, earlier it was Moscow that put forward the initiative to create the UN convention on cybercrime. At the end of October, the document was officially opened for signature. Now Moscow and Beijing have agreed to establish an Expert Council for cooperation in the field of AI.