Sino-Russia ties enter new chapter with booming trade

 HARBIN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The volume of trade between China and Russia in 2012 will hit 90 billion U.S. dollars, close to the 100-billion target for 2015 set during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China earlier this month, a Russian trade representative predicted on Friday.

Bilateral 1 trade in the first five months of this year has been growing steadily 2, with an increase of 20 percent year-on-year, the fastest among all China's major trade partners, according to Sergey Tsyplakov, trade representative of the Russian Federation 3 in China.
"I think the goals of reaching 100 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade volume by 2015 and 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 are completely within reach," Tsyplakov said during the opening ceremony of Russia Business Day in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province.
"We are happy to see that border trade and cooperation between local governments are more vibrant 4 than before and have become an important part of bilateral trade," said Zhong Shan, China's vice 5 minister of commerce, at the event.
"Russia Business Day is an important platform for bilateral trade and I have full confidence that the trade targets will be realized," Zhong said.
Russia Business Day is a major part of the ongoing 6 23rd China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair.
In 2011, bilateral trade reached 80 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 42.7-percent year-on-year rise.
Behind the booming trade lies the political will from both sides to tighten 7 bilateral relations.
While running for Russian president, presidential candidate Vladimir Putin said that China was not a threat to Russian economy, adding that there is a need to properly build relationships with Chinese corporations, according to an article by Putin published in the Moscow News on Feb. 27, 2012.
"The growth of the Chinese economy is not a threat but a challenge that carries huge potential for business cooperation, the chance to catch the Chinese wind in the sails of our economy," Putin said in the article.
He also called for "actively 8 building new cooperative ties, matching the technology and manufacturing capabilities 9 of our countries and using China's capacity for the economic development of Siberia and the Far East."
In June, Putin paid a state visit to China and attended the 12th meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was held in Beijing from June 6 to 7.
During his talks with the visiting president, President Hu Jintao said China and Russia are both committed to restructuring their economies and addressing risks and adverse 10 influences in the global economy.
Hu said China and Russia should expand their cooperation in investment, energy, technology, large-scale projects and trans-border infrastructure 11, as well as sub-national cooperation.
Putin said there is immense potential and broad prospects 12 for cooperation between Russia and China.
President Putin visited China during his first foreign visit after becoming president in 2012. During the visit, Putin had fruitful talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and Premier 13 Wen Jiabao, Tsyplakov said.
Tsyplakov said a united China with rapid development is in the best interest of Russia, adding that bilateral trade is very important for the two countries' relations.
"A developing relationship between the two countries is consistent with the long-term interests of both sides. Therefore, what is needed right now is to add substance to this aspiration," Tsyplakov said.
Song Kui, a researcher with the Heilongjiang Provincial 14 Academy of Social Sciences, said both countries attach great importance to the trade fair.
The fair is enjoying perfect timing 15, coming right after President Putin's visit and prior to Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization, Song said.
"Political relations between China and Russia are stable and the two countries have no territory disputes, which is very good news, as the two sides can focus on economic cooperation," Song said.
Konstangin Kholozhenko, a businessman from Russia, said he believes bilateral trade will be more active.
"I agree with President Putin regarding bilateral relations (with China). I hope the Russian government will do more to attract China's investment and technology," Kholozhenko said.
Li Na, a sales representative of Quanlong Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of construction materials in east China's Jiangsu province, said his company is attending the fair in hopes of testing the waters in eastern Russia, as their business has thus far been confined to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
"We hope to sell our products to the Far East. It is totally plausible 16, as when Russia develops this region, they will be in great need for building materials. They may likely choose our products, as our products have competitive prices," Li said.
"The development of Russia's Far East is great news for companies like us, as booming trade means more business opportunities," said Sergey Budnikov, general manager of FIBDEL, a company that specializes in custom clearance 17, transport and logistics.
Budnikov said that for many Russian companies, the competition brought by Chinese companies may not be welcome.
However, it is mainly up to these companies to seek out opportunities and avoid risks, he added.
China is Russia's biggest trading partner, while Russia is the fastest-growing country among China's major trade partners, Sergey Razov, Russian ambassador to China, said in early June.
Official records show that 17.82 billion U.S. dollars' worth of overseas-related contracts were signed at the 2011 fair.
"I am ready to do business with my Chinese counterparts, and next year I will still attend the fair," Kholozhenko said.