China and Russia Strengthen Cooperation in Energy and Finance... Expanding Economic Ties

China and Russia have announced plans to further strengthen cooperation in the energy and financial sectors. Despite U.S. pressure on Russia, the two countries are demonstrating their solidarity by increasing mutual economic dependence.

According to a joint statement released after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on the 16th, the two countries plan to expand cooperation in areas such as oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, coal, and electricity. The leaders also clearly stated their commitment to ensuring the stable operation of cross-border infrastructure for smooth energy transportation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The statement also included that Chinese and Russian companies will strive to implement large-scale energy projects and build cooperation in fields such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon markets.

If related cooperation expands, the already peak-level mutual economic dependence between the two countries is expected to increase further. Last year, trade volume between China and Russia reached a record high of $240 billion (approximately 324.504 trillion KRW). Russia is not only a major crude oil supplier to China but also a key export market for electric vehicles facing Western restrictions.

China and Russia plan to increase the use of their own currencies in bilateral trade, finance, and other economic activities to reduce the impact of Western sanctions, and improve financial infrastructure for smooth payment channels. Earlier, the Kremlin announced that more than 90% of commercial transactions between China and Russia are already settled in yuan or rubles.

Additionally, the two countries emphasized cooperation in various industrial sectors including civil aviation, shipbuilding, automobile and equipment manufacturing, electronics, metallurgy, iron ore mining, chemicals, and forestry. They also mentioned the potential for innovation through cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), software, open source, network and data security, electronic games, radio frequency coordination, vocational education, and specialized scientific research. The joint statement also conveyed that the two countries will explore opening new routes crossing the Arctic region.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.