Russia, China May Reach Annual Trade of $200Bln Soon - Putin

Russia and China are planning to increase the annual volume of bilateral trade to $200 billion in the near future, President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The Russian leader said he had met with First Vice Premier of the State Council of China Zhang Gaoli at the SPIEF, adding that the bilateral trade remains a central topic during his talks with Chairman Xi Jinping.

"China is our 'number one' trade partner. Our current trade is around $85 billion…I think that in the next few years we will be able to reach the $200-billion turnover."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he expected bilateral trade between Russian and China to reach $100 billion this year.

Russia is China’s ninth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade between the two countries standing at $95.3 billion last year and $90 billion the previous year, according to the Chinese customs department.

Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement last year on the delivery of Russian natural gas to China for the next 30 years.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Russia-China Investment Fund and the regional government of China’s Heilongjiang province set up a $2-billion investment fund to finance up to 10 major agricultural projects on May 7.