Over 17,000 corporate and government representatives from 136 countries and regions are attending this year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, according to the event's organizer.
This year's theme is "The Foundations of a Multipolar World." Putin said in a speech Friday that Russia will remain an "important player" in global trade despite U.S. and European sanctions.
"Countries friendly to Russia ... account for more than three quarters of our trade volume," he said, referring to nations not participating in the sanctions.
He also called for developments in Russia's capital market, including by encouraging companies to trade shares publicly.
Putin has been ramping up criticism of the West, with leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations expected to discuss new financial sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine at a summit this month.
The St. Petersburg forum provides a platform for discussions on investments in Russia. Amid growing Western pressure, Russia hopes to use the event to strengthen ties with China and India, which are not part of the sanctions regime, as well as with other trade and security partners in the Global South.
Putin met with Bolivian President Luis Arce on the sidelines of the forum Thursday. The leaders affirmed their cooperation on a mining project for lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, Putin cited technological independence as crucial to bolstering the Russian economy. He is expected to court greater investment from China, India and elsewhere to boost domestic production of high-tech products -- a response in part to fears that trade with China will be disrupted.
Russia relied on China for 22% of its total imports by value in 2021, before it invaded Ukraine, official data shows. That figure increased to 37% in 2023. Over 30% of Russian exports headed to China last year as well.
Nearly 60% of Russia's semiconductor imports came from China in 2020, according to a 2022 report published by the U.S.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.
But Chinese exports to Russia fell on the year for the third straight month in May, according to data published by the Chinese customs authority on Friday.
The decline stems largely from the threat of additional U.S. sanctions.
Some Russian entities have been evading sanctions by settling payments through bank accounts in China and other countries. In a bid to crack down on such tactics, U.S. President Joe Biden in December outlined plans to also sanction third-country banks that facilitate such transactions.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and other Chinese institutions are now refusing to process yuan-based payments out of Russia. Payments by Russian electronic component makers have not been processed by Chinese banks since the end of March, Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported.
Putin has emphasized Russia's progress in responding to Western sanctions. Russian gross domestic product grew 5.4% on the year in January-March, its statistics service said, as war efforts in Ukraine lift the country's manufacturing sector.
Still, tougher sanctions and declining trade with China could deal a blow to the economy. The push for technological independence also remains fraught, with only a handful of global leaders, including Arce and Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, attending this year's St. Petersburg forum.
The forum in the past had drawn leaders like Japan's Shinzo Abe and France's Emmanuel Macron. But many are now avoiding the event in light of the war in Ukraine. Many attendees and exhibitors this year appear to be Russian.