China and Russia Pledge Deeper Investment Cooperation at 12th Committee Meeting in Beijing

High-Level Officials Convene in Beijing

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov co-chaired the 12th meeting of the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee in Beijing on Saturday, November 1, 2025. The high-level gathering saw both nations reaffirm their commitment to significantly enhancing bilateral investment cooperation.

The meeting, held ahead of the 30th regular meeting of the prime ministers of Russia and China, underscored the strategic importance both countries place on their economic partnership.

China's Four-Point Proposal for Enhanced Cooperation

During the discussions, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, positively assessed the progress in China-Russia investment cooperation over the past year. He put forward a comprehensive four-point proposal aimed at deepening bilateral collaboration:

• The two sides should focus on key areas, strengthen exemplary leadership, and strive to deliver more practical results.
• They should enhance communication and coordination, leverage their complementary strengths, and deepen and substantiate investment cooperation.
• Efforts should be made to strengthen supply-demand alignment, tap into cooperation potential, and actively explore new areas for investment.
• Both nations should continue to broaden openness, improve the business environment, and steadily boost enterprises' confidence in cooperation.

Ding emphasized China's willingness to work with Russia to continuously enhance the quality and efficiency of investment cooperation, guided by the strategic direction of the two heads of state.

Russia's Commitment to a Fair Business Environment

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov reiterated Russia's readiness to fully utilize the steering and coordinating role of the Russia-China Investment Cooperation Committee. He highlighted the importance of fostering a fair and transparent business environment, steadily advancing key projects, and actively cultivating new growth drivers to elevate Russia-China relations.

Manturov also noted that the commission would focus on a package of projects totaling over $200 billion, with more than half of this sum earmarked for 63 major projects, 46 of which are already underway. These projects primarily span sectors such as transport and logistics infrastructure, metallurgy, chemistry, mechanical engineering, the timber industry, agriculture, and trade.

Economic Context and Future Outlook

The meeting concluded with Ding and Manturov witnessing the signing of cooperation documents, signaling tangible outcomes from their discussions.

Bilateral trade between Russia and China has seen significant growth, more than doubling over the past four years to reach $245 billion. However, Manturov acknowledged a decline in trade growth in 2025, attributing it to market conditions and external factors, and urged both sides to make additional efforts to restore growth.

Further bolstering the investment framework, an updated intergovernmental Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments is set to come into effect in December 2025. This agreement aims to simplify authorization procedures in investment and strengthen the protection of investors' rights.