Ministry of Commerce: China will further support enterprises of both sides in expanding agricultural trade

On the 18th, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. Spokesperson Shen Danyang, in answering a reporter's question, said that China is willing to vigorously develop China-Russia bilateral economic and trade relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and to constantly create conditions for expanding cooperation between the two countries in energy, agriculture, infrastructure construction, high and new technology and other fields.

[Reporter from MASTV of Macao, China]: Hello, spokesperson. We would like to ask about the Ministry of Commerce's trade situation with Russia and its plans. In addition, we would like to ask, recently Russia has been subject to sanctions from Western countries, and they said they would increase trade imports and exports with China, especially China UnionPay, which may replace VISA or other international payment forms and become a new payment method in Russia. Russia will also increase imports of Chinese agriculturalproducts. We would like to ask how the Ministry of Commerce views this. Will it further cooperate with Russia, or are there some other plans? Thank you.

[Shen Danyang]: First of all, I want to say that China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination, and we are willing to vigorously develop China-Russia bilateral economic and trade relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and to constantly create conditions for expanding cooperation between the two countries in energy, agriculture, infrastructure construction, high and new technology and other fields. Regarding the situation of China-Russia agricultural trade that you mentioned, through the joint efforts of both sides, in recent years China's agricultural exports to Russia have grown steadily, reaching 2.1 billion US dollars in 2013. China's agricultural exports are already highly marketized, and enterprises decide on their own export destination countries and destinations according to commercial conditions and quality requirements. Chinese enterprises expanding agricultural exports to Russia and arranging investment and business activities are normal commercial acts. Agricultural trade is an important part of China-Russia trade. As neighboring countries, the two countries' agricultural trade has unique advantages and development potential. For many years, enterprises in China's border provinces and regions have carried out agricultural exports to Russia in various ways. In the future, China will further support enterprises of both sides in expanding agricultural trade, and is willing to work with Russia to create facilitating conditions for this. Thank you for your question.