Russia and China continue to strengthen partnership in the forest industry

Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia

The 20th meeting of the Permanent Russian-Chinese Working Group on the Development and Use of Forest Resources was held ahead of the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the People's Republic of China. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Mikhail Yurin and Deputy Minister of Commerce of the People's Republic of China Lin Ji.

The parties discussed the removal of trade and logistics barriers, the development of joint investment projects, as well as the expansion of "green" and low-carbon cooperation in the forestry sector.

Mikhail Yurin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation: "It is important for us that cooperation is mutually beneficial and aimed at sustainable development. We understand that only through joint efforts can we achieve sustainable growth, innovation and new opportunities for our industry. The forestry complex, of course, remains one of the most export-oriented sectors of the Russian economy. And it is China that is currently Russia's main foreign trade partner in this area. If we talk about the general trend, then over the past year, trade turnover with China in timber industry products has already reached $6.6 billion.".

Special attention was paid to projects being implemented in the Tomsk Region and Krasnoyarsk Krai. Representatives of the Irkutsk and Arkhangelsk Regions, the leading regions in terms of export volumes to China, as well as representatives of industry associations and enterprises, also took part in the meeting.

Dialogue with Chinese partners in the timber industry is systemic. Several important meetings have taken place this year:

July 6 - Russian-Chinese Forum on Trade and Economic Cooperation with Shandong Province in Moscow;
May 15 - meeting with a delegation from Liaoning Province at the office of “OPORA RUSSIA”;
April 11 — negotiations in Tomsk with representatives of the city of Wuhan on trade and economic cooperation, including in the timber industry;
April 3 — working meeting in Moscow with a delegation of entrepreneurs from the city of Wuhan (Hubei Province).