The US-China trade war is a chance to provide an impetus to economic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, according to Yu Hongjun, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) and former deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He was interviewed by valdaiclub.com on the sidelines of an expert discussion, titled “Cooperation Between China and Russia Amid New International Conditions."
The situation associated with the trade war between the USA and China is very difficult and uncontrollable. It has a great deal of influence on the economy and other areas of live within both countries. We can say that the two sides, China and the United States, are both suffering from the trade war. Against this background, Russia remains a reliable economic partner for China. China is a major consumer of Russian oil and gas, and this is among the most important areas of cooperation. China also needs a large volume of agricultural products, and we now intend to increase imports from Russia. We can say that the US-China trade war provides a chance to give an impetus to economic cooperation between our countries.
The Belt and Road initiative, which the Chinese government has focused a great deal of attention on, contributes to the strengthening of the global economy. This is a new type of international economic cooperation. The leaders of our countries have a common understanding of the Belt and Road initiative, which is tightly interwoven with Russia’s EAEU project. Due to this alignment, there will be more and more joint projects. It is very important that cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative strengthens infrastructural ties between our countries.
The Belt and Road initiative has appeared recently – it is only six years old. During the course of its implementation, of course, questions arise. But we meet and solve them. We consider the criticism of the initiative on the part of Western countries unreasonable. We will continue to pursue it in order to improve the economic and political situation in the world.
