Russian dancers perform during the 10th China-Russia Expo in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on May 17, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]
China-Russia economic cooperation is shifting from scale expansion to a new phase of high-quality development driven by institutional cooperation and innovation, Ding Chao, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, said.
The bilateral trade hit $85.2 billion in the first four months of 2026, rising 19.7 percent year-on-year. Their two-way trade has topped $200 billion for three straight years, with China staying Russia's top trading partner for 16 consecutive years, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
Russia and China are close partners, Pavel Kiparisov, chairman at Russian-Chinese Guild of Commerce (RCGC), said in an interview with China Daily Website on Monday.
Ding noted that the advantage of China-Russia cooperation lies in the high-level political mutual trust between two sides, as well as both sides' willingness and ability to maintain strategic independence.
