Sino-Russia collaboration in agriculture and infrastructure

Published: 16 February 2017

On February 15, 2017, Deloitte CIS held the third roadshow in Beijing to introduce investment projects in Russia with a total value of USD 8 billion.

The event aimed at developing Russian-Chinese investment cooperation in major sectors of the economy. At this time, the focus was on agricultural and infrastructure projects, which were relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative.

During the roadshow, 14 investment projects were introduced in the following regions: Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krai, Chelyabinsk and Ulyanovsk, as well as the Republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The Russian delegation included 20 representatives of the largest enterprises and authorities of the above regions.

"Chinese companies are ready to invest in various industries abroad. Speaking about Russia, apart from the oil & gas sector, there is a strong capital need for agricultural and infrastructure projects. Infrastructure investment can help resolve economic security issues, which are of major concerns for the Chinese government (e.g. the Belt and Road Initiative). China is also willing to invest in agricultural projects because of its growing awareness of food safety and the fact that Russia has a competitive edge in the production of eco-friendly products," said Alexander Krylov, Head of the Russia and CIS Department, Deloitte China. "With a history of three years, the event has become an excellent platform for government and corporate representatives in Russia and Chinese investors to review and discuss the feasibility of different investment projects, and this would contribute to mutual benefits for both countries."

"Last year trade between Russia and China amounted to USD 69.5 billion, having grown by 2.2%. We still have the goal, set by the leaders of our countries, to bring the volume of bilateral trade to USD 200 billion by 2020. At the same time, we understand that this goal will be hard to achieve without changes in the steps regarding economic ties, broad investment collaboration, and finding new growth areas for bilateral trade," emphasized Vladimir Oshchepkov, Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in China, "Not incidentally, the aim of today’s conference is to discuss prospective joint projects in the area of infrastructural cooperation and agriculture. There is huge potential for collaboration here."

"Despite a decline in Russian-Chinese trade in 2015, 2016 saw a positive trend with business stepping up in a number of areas of cooperation. In particular, growth was observed in agricultural and food product supplies from Russia to China, and cooperation developed in the timber industry, cross border e-commerce, and other areas. We believe that such events organised by Deloitte CIS are effective in promoting bi-lateral economic, trade and investment cooperation," Elena Kravtsova, a representative of the Russian Trade Mission in China, noted in her speech.

Deloitte held a number of conferences for representatives of the Russian and Chinese business communities in the northeastern and southern provinces of China, as well as two earlier roadshows in Beijing. The events carried the objective to attract Chinese investment into large and lucrative projects in nine Russian regions.

Deloitte independently holds events and invites representatives of Russian regions to participate in these events free of charge. Its highly qualified professionals would provide strategy, tax and financial advisory counsel to event participants, helping them to select the most suitable investment projects and support external eminence building.

Over 350 representatives from various Chinese companies and local authorities have participated in the three investment roadshows in 2015–2017, which were highly recognized by the Russian authorities and companies and gained attention from investors. Deloitte is appreciative of the support from different regional representatives in preparation for these events.