Highlights of China-Russia economic, trade cooperation

Aerial photo taken on Feb. 21, 2021 shows the first China-Europe freight train linking St. Petersburg of Russia with Chengdu departing the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Chengdu International Railway Port Administrative Committee/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the two countries have actively enhanced economic ties, injecting new impetus into bilateral relations.

China-Russia economic and trade cooperation has demonstrated great vitality over the years. In 2020, China remained Russia's primary trading partner for 11 consecutive years, while Russia was China's 10th largest trading partner.

The following facts and figures offer a glimpse of the achievements of bilateral economic and trade cooperation since the start of 2021.

-- Trade in goods hit a record high of 50.66 billion U.S. dollars in the Jan.-May period, up 23.6 percent year on year and expanding 19.3 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

-- Bilateral services trade grew 20.9 percent year on year in the first quarter, marking the first positive growth since the outbreak of the pandemic.

-- Trade structure between China and Russia has witnessed continuous improvements.

The trade volume of mechanical and electrical products increased 46 percent year on year during the Jan.-May period, and that of high-tech products rose 37 percent from a year ago. Both growth rates were higher than that of bilateral trade in goods in the same period.

-- Private enterprises were the biggest contributor to bilateral trade, with their proportion in bilateral trade in goods standing at 48.5 percent in the first four months, compared to 33.3 percent for state-owned enterprises, or 15.2 percent for foreign-funded enterprises.

-- From January to May, China's non-financial direct investment in Russia increased by 48.3 percent year on year, while its newly signed contracted projects in Russia surged 93 percent year on year to 1.26 billion U.S. dollars.

-- Solid progress has been made in the implementation of a series of major strategic projects, including the newly launched units of the Tianwan nuclear power plant and the Xudapu nuclear power plant, as well as the signing of a memorandum of understanding on jointly building an international scientific research station on the moon.