Sino-Russia trade volume may exceed US$40 bln

The bilateral trade between China and Russia may exceed US$40 billion this year, following last year's record of US$33.4 billion, Wei Jianguo, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, told the sources.

In the opening ceremony of the third Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo in Changchun (capital of Jilin Province), Wei Jianguo said the bilateral trade has kept increasing since 1999 at an average annual growth rate of 28.6%. In the first seven months of this year, the trade between China and Russia climbed to US$25 billion.

The border trade between the two countries hit US$7 billion last year, and reached US$4.6 billion in the first seven months of this year, according to the official statistics.

China now becomes the third largest trading partner of Russia, and Russia ranks eight among the largest trading partners in China.