More than 80 scholars from universities and research institutes in China and Russia discussed further strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation during a roundtable in Changchun, capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province, on Aug. 29.

Friendship, close political ties and complementary production factors have laid a solid foundation for comprehensive cooperation between China and Russia, said Jiang Zhenjun, deputy director of the Institute of Russian Studies at Heilongjiang University. In particular, the integration of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union will further boost cooperation in fields like culture, agriculture, forestry and ecommerce.

In the long run, high-level economic and trade cooperation is needed to elevate the established China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height, scholars said. Also, they highlighted the importance of increased economic and trade cooperation between northeast China and eastern Russia, which includes Siberia and the Far East, saying that it will boost bilateral ties. The Program of Cooperation between Northeast China and Russia’s Far East and Eastern Siberia (2009— 2018) is set to expire next year, so scholars proposed extending it or expanding it to include more areas.

At present, the bilateral economic relationship still lags behind political and cultural exchanges, and their border areas continue to be a marginal part of bilateral cooperation, said Viktor Larin, director of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Larin said, “There are abundant resources in the North Pacific that can be used for selfdevelopment, and we should give top priority to discovering and protecting these resources.” It is urgent to strengthen research on marine and land resources in the region, explore methods of effective exploitation, and develop biotechnology and new materials to protect the living environment. Coordinating scientific research in the region will be a good way for bilateral relations to make rapid progress to a new stage in the future, he added.

Moreover, Zhou Weiping, director of the Institute of Russian Studies at the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out bright prospects in low-carbon economic cooperation. She suggested enhancing cooperation in Clean Development Mechanism projects and carbon trading as well as in developing clean energy and natural gas to deepen bilateral cooperation in low-carbon economic growth.