Andrey Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, expressed his opinion on mutual trade volume before the meeting of the Joint Commission on the implementation of the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the People's Republic of China, scheduled for December 1, QazMonitor reports citing the EEC's press service.
"China is the main trading partner of the EAEU, and its position in trade with the Union has recently been significantly strengthened. This year, China's share has already exceeded 35% of total imports from third countries and accounts for almost 16% of total exports. According to both indicators, China is firmly in first place among all states," said Andrei Slepnev.
According to him, the upcoming event, co-chaired from the Chinese side by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei, is designed to further enhance cooperation between the EAEU and the PRC, as well as to fill the cooperation agenda with relevant practical issues.
Currently, the EAEU's trade turnover with China as a whole has increased by almost 30%. Exports increased by about 40%, and imports by 20%. At the same time, according to EAEU statistics for 7 months, a small deficit in the EAEU trade balance with China for the corresponding period of 2021 was replaced by a significant surplus this year.
The largest share of imports from China among the Union states is traditionally held by the Russian Federation (more than 80%). The Republic of Kazakhstan accounts for 10%, the Kyrgyz Republic for 4%, and the Republic of Belarus for just over 3%. Russia also has the largest share in exports with an indicator of 85%.
In the industrial segment of exports to China in 2022, natural gas, hard coal, and processed timber are showing strong growth among the largest commodity groups. When it comes to agricultural exports, rapeseed oil, frozen fish, crustaceans, and poultry meat stand out.
In the commodity structure of industrial imports, an increase is observed among such mass imports as equipment for gas liquefaction, trucks, cars, crawler excavators, tires and tires, and air conditioners. Agricultural products include sunflower seeds, tomatoes, plant extracts, peaches, onions, and vegetable and fruit juices.
