The bilateral trade between China and Russia, which has been
growing for eight consecutive years since 1999, may exceed US$40
billion this year, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.
Bilateral trade was US$20.5 billion for the first half of this
year and it is likely to exceed US$40 billion for the whole year,
said Wang Jingsong, an official with the European department of
China's Ministry of Commerce.
Wang made the remarks while attending a Sino-Russia automobile
cooperation forum in Harbin, capital of northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province.
Sino-Russia trade has recorded an average annual 28.6-percent
growth since 1999. Russia is China's eighth largest trade partner,
while China ranks third among Russia's trade partners.
Both countries have planned a trade volume of 60-80 billion
dollars for 2010.
China's non-financial direct investment in Russia was 935
million dollars, while Russia had invested 610 million dollars in
China by the end of last year.
(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2007)