20 Oct, 2023
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.
The two nations have signed a nearly 2.5-trillion-rouble (US$25.8 billion) grain-supply contract, the biggest in their food-trade history, under the Belt and Road Initiative, a Russian insider was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Wednesday during the third Belt and Road Forum.
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.
“This will enable counterparties from other countries, including China, to acquire Russian goods and resources with a lower carbon footprint, thereby promoting the transition to low-carbon energy sources,” he said.
Economic cooperation between the neighbours has been ramped up as poor ties with Western countries and the war in Ukraine have restricted trade and stalled supply chains, with China buying more food and energy from Russia.
Russian exports of energy commodities to China so far this year have grown by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the energy forum.
Russia hopes to see the participation of Chinese companies in terms of hydrocarbon and alternative energy sources, TASS quoted him as saying.
In an opening speech to the forum, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang also called for better connectivity between the two countries to facilitate trade in energy. He also expressed interest in pushing for more partnership in the development of renewable resources and global energy governance, according to a readout released by Xinhua.