Trade turnover between Russia and China in 2024 is expected to reach $300 billion.

Trade turnover between Russia and China in 2024 is expected to reach $300 billion

This forecast marked the conclusion of the Chinese national exhibitions China Machinery Fair 2023 and International / China Commodity Fair 2023.

The scale of the expositions, the level of participant engagement, and the tone of dialogue between representatives of the two countries during the business programs at both exhibitions—which took place from October 30 to November 1, 2023, at the Expocentre in Moscow—all confirm the attainability of this target.

Over the three exhibition days, more than 14,000 people attended: 9,413 visited the International China Commodity Fair and 4,578 visited the China Machinery Fair. Notably, interest and attendance remained consistently high from the opening moments through to the close. There are specific reasons for this.

Automotive and agro-industrial complex—priority sectors for cooperation

Russia has become the largest buyer of Chinese automobiles, and domestic agro-industrial products are now a priority sector in the development of international trade. This was stated by Sergey Krasilnikov, Vice President and Managing Director of the Department for International Bilateral Cooperation of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). He also noted that Russian industrialists are currently concerned, first of all, about the need for a comprehensive trade agreement, which for a number of reasons still does not exist between Russia and China. «Such an agreement would elevate cooperation to a new qualitative level, including economic and political aspects,» the expert is confident.

According to Sergey Krasilnikov, the second issue that requires prompt attention is logistics. "Half of the checkpoints are still closed. Given the projected increase in cargo volume both by weight and value in the near future, it's time for us to start thinking about how to improve the logistics of mutual trade. We managed to discuss all of these issues during the exhibition," said the RSPP Vice President.

The tremendous potential for developing economic ties between our countries was also highlighted in a speech by Zhou Licun, Chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia. He noted that in March of this year, a road map for the development of Russian-Chinese relations was established. In the three quarters since then, bilateral trade turnover has exceeded $186 billion, a 30% increase. In the field of engineering, the figure grew by 86% over nine months, while sales of heavy equipment rose by 112%.

Open dialogue with the business community and the search for opportunities

This year, for the first time since the pandemic, Chinese delegates participated in round-table discussions on the development of the agricultural sector, oil and gas industry, and metalworking and equipment markets. Over three days, China Machinery Fair hosted practical workshops and sessions in an open dialogue format.

Among the most hotly debated topics were innovations in agriculture, effective environmental protection, cooperation in manufacturing, research and development, and collaboration with Chinese automakers.

The central theme of most presentations was the search for new opportunities for collaboration in strategically important industrial sectors. Market analysts, representatives of relevant associations, businesses, and government agencies discussed building effective trade and industrial cooperation between Russian regions and Chinese provinces.

In particular, the most successful cases of economic, trade, and industrial cooperation between Russia and China were highlighted by Pavel Kiparisov, Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Guild of Commerce; Jia Yinke, Head of the Trade and Economic Representation of Jiangsu Province of the PRC in Russia and the CIS; and An Sunlin, Representative of the People’s Government of Henan Province in Russia. Up-to-date industry analytics was provided by Vladimir Remyga, Chairman of the Expert Council of the Russian-Chinese Chamber and Head of the Eurasian Center for High Technologies.

All participants agreed on the need to quickly establish supply chains for machinery, engineering, and aviation products geared not only toward Russian and Chinese partners but also other interested entrepreneurs worldwide.

Shifting market leaders and consumer priorities

It is clear that Chinese brands are becoming increasingly recognizable in the Russian market. This is evident from the growing turnover of electronics and other consumer goods: this year, Chinese products have become the most popular among Russian consumers—with the share of purchases of household appliances and electronics from Chinese brands rising to 43%.

A clear example is the change in market leadership in the «television» category—Haier has become the leader, replacing South Korea’s Samsung, which held the top position for nearly ten years.

«Manufacturing giants from Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, and Zhejiang possess advanced technologies and demonstrate a high technical standard to Russian consumers,» commented Shi Yunhong, Deputy Chairman of the Chinese section of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME).

By the way, heads and managers of major Chinese enterprises were among the first to appreciate the scale of the exhibitions by participating in a special tour of the displays. During this tour, they were able to familiarize themselves with a wide range of consumer goods—from ceramic tableware and perfume to smart home appliances.

Moreover, the presentations went far beyond the capabilities of robotic vacuum cleaners. For example, at the stand of Dreame Innovation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., visitors could shake the telescopic paw of a robot dog—a gadget that mimics a household pet. The robot’s sensor module allows it to navigate its environment in real time, while the Dreame AI Sage computational engine precisely identifies surrounding objects and plans a safe route. Thanks to its built-in emotional system, DreameDog, according to its developers, is capable of using vision and hearing, understanding human emotions, and even expressing its own—almost like a real pet.

Boldest forecasts announced

In 2023, the exhibition will be held with official support from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which brings together representatives of Russia’s industrial, scientific, financial, and commercial organizations.

This form of cooperation aims to raise the status of the exhibition event and attract more Russian and Chinese exhibitors, as well as visitors. In the future, such collaboration in the field of exhibitions will help further build close and long-term business relationships between RSPP member organizations and Chinese partners.

In fact, for those looking to grow their business on marketplaces, every day of the International / China Commodity Fair featured business events: forums, conferences, master classes, and discussions. Thanks to this variety of active formats, all interested participants were able to gain information and analytics from authoritative sources, as well as expand their network of business partners.

«This year we brought more than 300 Chinese companies. We hope that every participant—whether from Russia or China—will find their consumer and business partner here,» commented Sergey Gorsky, CEO of Gefera Media. According to experts, the high turnout at the exhibitions this season offers broad opportunities for finding partners in emerging market niches in Russia and for expanding cooperation in various fields of industrial and consumer production.

This gives hope that Russian-Chinese relations will not only strengthen in the near future, but will also contribute to the prosperity of both countries. Moreover, business representatives from Russia and China agreed that bilateral trade next year should reach $300 billion—a figure both sides see as fully achievable. The recently held China Machinery Fair and International / China Commodity Fair are set to make their own contribution to the development of Russian-Chinese business cooperation.