Russian Billionaire Industrialist Sees China-Russia Trade & Investment Trends Ahead
Oleg Deripaska, Founder of Rusal, says China-Russia bilateral trade can reach US$500 billion and that the BRI is ushering in geopolitical changes
China and Russia can further explore integration in financial infrastructure, and China-Russia local currency settlement cooperation can go further, according to Oleg Deripaska, industrialist, philanthropist and founder of aluminum giant Rusal.
He made the comments in an exclusive interview with the China’s Global Times, stating that the two countries have a good basis for economic cooperation with deep mutual trust.
Now that Russia and China have realized Ruble-Yuan settlement in many scenarios, in the future there can be a better and more convenient platform for loans for enterprises in the two countries, Deripaska noted.
This year, the volume of trade between Russia and China is expected to exceed US$200 billion for the first time, and this figure could later more than double and exceed US$500 billion, he said. In the future, China and Russia can also deepen cooperation in mutual investment. For example, in the automobile manufacturing industry, the two countries will build joint ventures in the future and they can jointly set up a system for manufactured goods and export them to third countries, said Deripaska.
Regarding energy cooperation, Deripaska noted that China is doing very well in renewable energy, so Russia will buy a variety of renewable energy-related technologies. In ecology and environmental protection, Russia and China have very strict laws and regulations, which are constantly being strengthened, he said.
When talking about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Deripaska said that for a long time, the world economy has been centered on the West, and almost all technologies and investments were initiated by Western countries, but Western control and intervention also led to many regional conflicts.
The BRI, in this context, has had a great positive effect on global economic development and the development of multilateralism, and is helping the world find a new balance. All countries in the world must strengthen economic and trade cooperation, help each other and work together in the same boat, he said.
Deripaska said that Russia’s trade had been over-reliant on Europe, and it must find a new balance that focuses on Asia. Before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, more than 60% of Russian industry was dependent on European technologies and standards. Now the country is transforming and revising national standards and developing deeper industrial cooperation with friendly countries, and especially towards Asia where Russian freight values had increased 50% in the first seven months of 2023.
Source: The Global Times
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