Russia and China continue to consistently strengthen their strategic partnership, demonstrating the steady growth of trade and economic ties. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a large press conference and a direct line held in Gostiny Dvor. According to him, the trade turnover between the two countries has approached the $250 billion mark, which puts Russia in first place among China's European partner countries.
The Head of State stressed that the dynamics of bilateral cooperation reflects the high level of trust between Moscow and Beijing, as well as the long-term nature of cooperation.
"The absolute figure is somewhere around 240-250 billion US dollars in turnover. In the country dimension of cooperation between Russia and China, Russia ranks first among European countries. We are cooperating, and this is just an indicator of the trust between our countries and the level of that trust," Vladimir Putin said.
The President stressed that cooperation is developing in all key areas, from high—tech manufacturing and science to education and space exploration. According to him, this format of cooperation forms a solid foundation for the sustainable development of relations both in the near future and in the more distant historical horizon.
"I hope that in this way we will develop relations with our Chinese friends in the near and more distant historical perspective," he added.
Liu Kai, a journalist from the Xinhua news Agency, asked the president about the achievements of Russian-Chinese strategic cooperation. He recalled that next year the countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of partnership and strategic cooperation relations, as well as the 25th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation.
In response, Vladimir Putin praised his personal relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, stressing their importance for the interstate dialogue.
"I rate President Xi Jinping as a reliable friend and stable partner — my reliable friend and stable partner and ally of Russia. And this is the most important basis for the development of Russian-Chinese relations," the president said.
During the press conference, the head of state also touched upon Russia's macroeconomic indicators. He said that the cumulative GDP growth over the past three years was 9.7%, and the manufacturing industry increased by 3.1%. Agricultural production increased by 3.3%.
Separately, the president noted the achievement of a record low unemployment rate of 2.2%, and also stated that inflation could reach 5.7—5.8% by the end of the year, which turned out to be lower than previously forecast values.
