OREANDA-NEWS  Despite the fact that trade between Russia and China is at record levels, problems remain in it. This is stated in a joint report of the Russian Council on International Affairs, the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University in Shanghai, which is referred to by RBC.

Experts considered that one of the main obstacles to effective cooperation between the countries was a sharp increase in China's trade deficit. In previous years, it was usually equal to $11-12 billion, and in 2022 it grew to $38 billion, which is 20 percent of the total volume of bilateral trade.

In addition, Moscow's actions to protect the interests of national producers, including an increase in export duties and export restrictions, lead to difficulties. There are also problems of Chinese companies due to the transition to settlements in national currencies, in which they cannot fulfill obligations in EU banks, as well as logistical difficulties.

In turn, among the risks of further development of economic ties between Russia and China, experts noted possible problems in the global and Russian economy that could affect domestic demand, unpredictability of energy prices and possible secondary sanctions of the United States and Europe. In this regard, the authors of the report note the need to create an infrastructure for transactions bypassing the SWIFT system and develop a strategy to overcome trade imbalances.