Thanks to US duties, China and Russia can increase trade volumes — expert Zheng

Thanks to the additional duties imposed by the United States on Chinese goods, the PRC and Russia is getting an opportunity to develop trade among themselves. This was stated to the TASS news agency by an expert from the Center for Russian Studies at the East China Pedagogical University in Shanghai, Zheng Rongyu.

According to him, the strong US pressure on China through tariffs has given a new impetus to strengthening trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia.

"There are more opportunities to expand trade between China and Russia, demand is also growing," the expert said.

He added that strengthening cooperation can play a special role in the current situation. Russian Federation and China in the energy sector.

"Sino-Russian energy cooperation will become an area that contributes to the further promotion of trade between China and Russia," the expert further said.

He noted that the hostile US pressure on China creates a situation in which Beijing no longer needs to worry about how US sanctions and various restrictions will affect The Russian Federation aims to develop comprehensive economic relations between China and Russia.

"The rise in trade between China and Russia will no longer be limited to the American factor," Zheng Rongyu stressed.

He also pointed to the opening prospects for increasing cooperation with Russia in the field of food security, noting that the US trade war with China will directly affect an important area of the economy and trade.

"In this regard, Russia has a serious advantage. In recent years, China and Russia have been constantly expanding the space for cooperation in the field of agricultural products, and many areas and markets have opened up for cooperation. In the event of continued tariff pressure from the United States, China may reduce its long-term excessive imports of agricultural products from the United States, since this in itself poses a hidden danger to China's national food security. In the current conditions, China can further promote import substitution of agricultural products, diversification of trade and focus on strengthening cooperation with Russia," the expert believes.

On April 2, Trump announced the introduction of additional duties on goods from 185 countries and territories. In relation to China, they amounted to 125%. Since April 12, Beijing has responded by imposing tariffs of 125% on American goods.

Later, the US administration lifted tariffs on Chinese smartphones, computers, equipment for the production of semiconductors and integrated circuits.