The economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia will continue to expand despite the negative impacts of the international financial crisis, Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said Moscow on Wednesday.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming holds a news briefing on the economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia, in Moscow, capital of Russia, June 17, 2009. [Lu Jinbo/Xinhua]

Chen, who is accompanying Chinese President Hu Jintao on a state visit to Russia, told a briefing that the trade and economic ties between the two countries have developed smoothly in recent years.

The trade between the two countries recorded an average annual growth rate of about 30 percent during the past 10 years and bilateral trade volume reached 56.8 billion US dollars last year, Chen said.

Two-way investment has also been growing rapidly, Chen said, noting that China's investment in Russia in the first quarter of this year accounted for more than 40 percent of the total last year.

Meanwhile, the two sides have made great progress in large-scale cooperation projects in the fields of oil, gas and nuclear energy, said the minister, adding that bilateral cooperation on high-tech also continued to deepen.

However, the China-Russia trade declined in the first three months of this year due to the current global financial crisis, Chen said.

The two sides will make joint efforts to oppose trade protectionism and China will support Russia's bid for membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said.

Chen said the two countries will speed up the economic restructuring and change the model of economic growth. He also called for creating conditions for facilitating trade, higher customs clearance efficiency and lower cost, as well as better investment environment.

According to Chen, China mainly exports machinery, light industrial products and textile to Russia, while Russia's exports to China primarily include crude oil, natural gas and lumber.

He said that it will take time for both sides to improve such a trade pattern, which reflects the advantages and characteristics of the two countries' economies.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2009)