China signs economic and trade partnership

China signs economic and trade partnership deal with Russia-led EAEU

 

China on Sunday inked an economic and trade cooperation agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), according to the Ministry of Commerce.

 

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan met with the Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Veronika Nikishina in east China’s Hangzhou city on Sunday, and both sides pledged to strengthen regional trade and economic cooperation in a joint statement.

 

The agreement will further reduce non-tariff trade barriers, improve trade facilitation, promote integration of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Russia-led EAEU framework, and boost the in-depth development of economic and trade partnership between China and the EAEU member countries.

 

In May 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to integrate the former's Belt and Road Initiative with the latter's aspiration under the EAEU framework in Moscow.

 

To implement the consensuses reached by the two leaders, Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the EEC announced to officially launch the negotiations on trade cooperation in June 2016, and after several rounds of negotiations and meetings, this agreement was finalized.

 

This marks the first institutional arrangement on economic and trade cooperation between China and the EAEU.