Beijing, May 23, (dpa/GNA) – Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has called for more economic cooperation at the start of a two-day visit to China.
Speaking at an economic summit in Shanghai on Tuesday, Mishustin said Russia hoped to sell more agricultural products to China.
“Russian agriculturalists are ready to significantly expand the export of their production to the Chinese market and broaden the range of plant and animal products supplied,” Mishustin said. For this to happen, however, barriers would have to be dismantled.
The background to this are Russia’s problems exporting its agricultural products as a result of Western sanctions, imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine. Although there are no sanctions specifically against Russian agriculture, the restrictions on financing export transactions and insuring ships also affect this sector.
In Shanghai, Mishustin also talked about closer ties with China in the high-tech industry, according to the Russian news agency TASS. The Russian head of government is expected to travel on to Beijing, where talks with the Chinese leadership are planned on Wednesday.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman backed Russia on Tuesday, condemning what she called “unilateral sanctions” that are based neither on international law nor on a UN Security Council mandate. Cooperation between China and Russia is not directed against other states, she said.
China is seeking peace talks in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, Beijing is backing Russian President Vladimir Putin overall, which is earning the country international criticism.
GNA