Photo shows visitors at the 10th China-Russia Expo held in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on May 18, 2026. Photo: VCG

Multiple Chinese departments on Thursday introduced achievements of China-Russia economic and trade cooperation following Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China this week, and pledged to further boost bilateral collaboration in a wide range of areas. While a Russian business representative told the Global Times that many enterprises are becoming more active on the ground to collaborate.    

During the momentous visit, China and Russia on Wednesday signed 20 cooperation documents in areas including the economy and trade, education, and science and technology, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The two sides also reached 20 cooperation agreements in other fields, Xinhua reported. 

At a press briefing on Thursday, when asked about economic and trade achievements reached by the two countries during the visit, He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that the two heads of state spoke highly of the achievements in China-Russia economic and trade cooperation in recent years, and both sides will continue to strengthen communication on economic and trade policies, leverage new quality productive forces to create new engines of growth, and promote the upgrading of trade in goods and services.

Specifically, under the joint witness of the two heads of state, the MOFCOM and relevant Russian departments signed cooperation documents on trade, support for multilateralism, and other areas, He said, adding that the ministry will earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, promote the upgrading of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and lay a solid foundation for the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. 

Also on Thursday, responding to a media inquiry about the progress of the Siberia 2 pipeline, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference that under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, China and Russia engage in close cooperation in many fields, including energy.

"China stands ready to work together with the Russian side to continue deepening practical cooperation in the principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit," Guo said.

On Thursday morning, Sun Meijun, head of China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), met with Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut and her delegation in Beijing and had in-depth exchanges of views and reached positive consensus on implementing the important strategic understandings of the heads of state of China and Russia, according to a post on the GAC's website. 

The two sides vowed to jointly serve China-Russia comprehensive strategic coordination and good-neighborly friendly cooperation, promote safe, convenient, and smooth two-way trade in agricultural and food products, strengthen cooperation and exchanges on entry-exit inspection and quarantine, and foster mutually complementary and win-win bilateral trade, per the post.

Meanwhile, at the ongoing 10th China-Russia Expo in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, businesses from both countries are seeing growing cooperation opportunities.

"During this year's China-Russia Expo, we observed a continued rise in Chinese companies' interest in Russian food, agricultural products, consumer goods, IT and artificial intelligence solutions, among other areas. Many enterprises are becoming more active on the ground, engaging in direct exchanges with their Russian counterparts," said Evgeny Bazhov, chief representative of Russian Export Center Joint Stock Co (REC) in China.

"China-Russia local cooperation has now entered a new, more pragmatic stage. There is a growing focus on long-term collaboration, industrial cooperation, and ways to jointly expand the market," Bazhov told the Global Times on Thursday.

Concrete progresses are also being made on major cooperation projects. The world's first cross-border cable car at Heihe, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, linking Blagoveshchensk, is on schedule to be unveiled by end of 2026, Russia's TASS state news agency reported on Thursday.

The cable car will reduce the border crossing time to less than 10 minutes from a 30-minute-long boat ride across the Heilongjiang River, known as the Amur River in Russia.

"Construction of the cable is ongoing, and we plan to announce progress at key stages of the project's construction," an official with the city told the Global Times on Thursday when contacted for comment on the progress of the project.

"While consolidating the foundation of traditional trade, localities of the two countries are fully leveraging their complementary advantages in resources and industries to accelerate the construction of a cross-border industrial chain collaboration system," said Song Kui, president of the Contemporary China-Russia Regional Economy Research Institute.

The two sides are also actively exploring and deepening cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy, green energy, and high-tech, Song told the Global Times on Thursday.