Xi's Russia visit to strengthen economic ties

A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Russia will boost bilateral economic ties.Shen Danyang told a news briefing that economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia has built up good momentum.Trade volume between the two nations reached a record 88.16 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, up 11.2 percent year on year, and China ranked as Russia's largest trade partner for the third consecutive year.Shen said there is a strong possibility of raising the trade volume to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 and 200 billion by 2020.China's investment in Russia has been increasing rapidly. As of the end of last year, China's combined non-financial direct investment had reached 4.42 billion U.S. dollars, with an average annual growth of above 40 percent over the last decade.Such Chinese investment in Russia stood at 656 million U.S. dollars in 2012, surging by 116.2 percent over the previous year, according to Shen.Cooperation between the two countries on a range of major projects in field including energy, nuclear power, aviation and aerospace, science and technology, and transportation, have contributed to sustainable economic relations.In addition, China's financial work with Russia, as well as cooperation between local governments and entrepreneurs on each side, have also made progress, the spokesman said.Xi will be in Russia from March 22 to 24 for his first state visit abroad after he was elected Chinese president.