China-Russia Ties Strengthen in New Phase

According to Xinhua news agency , the following facts and figures reveal the strengthening bond between the two countries in trade, agriculture and energy.

More than 380 deals worth over 170 billion Yuan (about 24.3 billion US dollars) were signed during the Sixth China-Russia Expo held in June in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Bilateral trade in goods between China and Russia stood at 41.6 billion US dollars in the first five months this year, up 1.9 percent year on year.

China remains Russia's largest trading partner. Russia's exports to China hit 21.5 billion US dollars, while imports were 20.1 billion dollars in the January-May period, up 1.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

China has become one of the main target export markets for Russian agricultural products. In the first five months of 2019, bilateral trade of agricultural products between China and Russia reached 2.18 billion US dollars, up 1.9 percent from the same period last year.

Soy beans stood out from China-Russia agricultural cooperation, as China's General Administration of Customs pledged to expand the sources of soy bean imports to cover the whole of Russia and develop shipping routes to improve transportation. In July, Chinese companies imported 4,400 tons of Russian soy beans via shipping.

Energy is another facet of the enhanced cooperation between China and Russia. The first two trains carrying 1,150 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) departed from Russia and entered China via Manzhouli land port in late August, trailblazing land transportation of LPG between the two countries. China may be able to receive an estimated 100,000 tons of Russia-produced LPG by early 2020.

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