China and Russia supercharge trade with record grain order, bolstering food and energy security as Western pressure persists
- Economic cooperation between the neighbours continues to be ramped up as poor ties with Western countries and the war in Ukraine have restricted trade and stalled supply chains
- Russian exports of energy commodities to China this year have grown by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year
China and Russia are strengthening their partnership in food and energy, as both countries face mounting challenges amid tensions with the West, according to announcements made at recent forums in Beijing.
Russia, which has been seeking more cooperation in Eurasia amid Western sanctions resulting from its invasion of Ukraine, is selling 70 million tonnes of grain, legumes, and oilseeds to its southern neighbour, according to Karen Ovsepyan, who leads the New Land Grain Corridor, a logistics hub being built in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Siberia and its far east region to facilitate China-Russia trade.
China, which has made food security a strategic priority amid growing food demand and an uncertain global market, will receive the agreed-upon food over a period of 12 years, he said. And the corridor through which the food is to be transported will be launched soon as an intergovernmental agreement is signed, which could be in late November or early December, he added.
The deal preceded Russian state-owned Sberbank’s invitation to China to consider recognising its low-carbon energy-certification system that aims to help its clients reduce their carbon footprint.
Russia, in return, will help promote a similar Chinese system in the Russian market, bank vice-president Mikhail Susov said at the fifth Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
The two countries should support each other in this regard, as “it is important to secure international recognition” of the energy certificates they issue, Susov said.
