Needed: A breakthrough with China

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to China, currently drawing to a close, or rather the preparations for it, unearthed the rather unpleasant statistic of 2% - this is Russia's trading position with its great neighbor. No matter how close their views may be on world events and international relations, 2% is not a purely economic indicator, it indicates policy and a not very favorable one at that. Particularly compared with U.S.-Chinese commerce at nigh on $300 billion a year (all figures are rough estimates because of the crisis: post-crisis statistics are only just beginning to emerge). And though Russian-Chinese trade turnover, judging from what Medvedev said, is set to return to its peak pre-crisis figure of $57 billion, there is a qualitative difference between it, and the U.S.-Chinese relationship.


[link to en.rian.ru]