© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS
Russia and China plan to increase the volume of trade turnover to $200 billion by 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
“China is Russia’s key economic partner,” Lavrov said at the international conference “Russia and China: to the new quality of bilateral relations.”
“Reaching a trade turnover of $200 billion by 2020 is on the agenda,” he added noting that “this aim is rather achievable.”
“The main precondition for success is switching to the new model of economic cooperation which would rely on closer production chains and investment ties,” the minister said.
“We hope to deepen cooperation between banking institutions of Russia and China, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICS New Development Bank and Eurasian Development Bank,” he concluded.
The EAEU-China agreement
Moscow and Beijing are working at the trade and economic agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China, Lavrov said.
“The agreement on trade and economic cooperation between EAEU and China is being prepared within the Eurasian Economic Commission,” he said. “We’ve in principle agreed upon search for conjugation paths of the Eurasian integration and the Chinese project of the Silk Road Economic Belt,” the minister added.
According to Lavrov, “a consistent top level view on modalities of such a work at bilateral and multilateral levels has been set forth in order to provide upward and sustainable advance in the region.”
“The creation of a common economic space has been defined as the key target,” he added.
The EAEU-SCO-ASEAN partnership
There are no restrictions for joining the initiative of the broad economic partnership between EAEU, SCO and ASEAN, Lavrov said.
“We approach the promotion of the initiative of a broad economic partnership with participation of EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union), SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) from more democratic positions, meaning that there are no restrictions for joining this process now,” the minister said.
“We hope that the open nature of our initiative will allow to ensure its effectiveness and, most importantly, its aim at satisfying the interests of all participants,” he added.