Sino-Russian trade looks promising against headwinds

A Geely EC Cross concept car is displayed at Auto China 2014 in Beijing, April 20, 2014. Geely Autmobile Holdings Ltd expects its net profit in 2014 to roughly halve due to foreign exchange losses from its operations in Russia and a sharp fall in sales in its major export markets, the Chinese carmaker said.[Photo/Agencies]

The province contributed nearly a quarter of total trade between the two countries in 2014.

China and Russia have had a long history of cooperation in energy, industry, investment and trade settlement, and new opportunities from cross-border e-commerce and the "Belt and Road" initiatives will bring a fresh breeze into the economic ties.

The top leaderships are also confident in the future. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed last year to boost the trade volume to $100 billion in 2015 and further double the figure in another five years.

The trade goals will definitely be attained through advancing practical cooperation between the two countries, Yang Chuang of China Foreign Affairs University said.

China remained Russia's largest trade partner for a fifth year in 2014, while Russia is China's ninth-largest trade partner.