The Kremlin appears to be having a hard time accepting that Russia is secondary to China when it comes to trade in Central Asia.
Russian officials’ reluctance to acknowledge trade realities was on display at a trade fair in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent in late April. According to reports, Russia’s Deputy Trade Representative Igor Kaminin said in a speech at the exhibition that, at least in the case of Uzbekistan, in the eyes of Uzbekistan’s leaders, Russia and China are “equal partners with an equal share of trade turnover.” He claimed that. TASS news report.
Kamin’s reasoning is literally based on wishful thinking. To bring Russia and China on the same trade level, he cited ambitious trade goals for 2030, with Uzbekistan hoping to increase annual trade with both Moscow and China to $20 billion each. said.
Uzbekistan’s official trade statistics for 2023 pinpoint Kamin’s bubble world, showing that the gap in trade between Russia and China is currently large. Last year, trade between Uzbekistan and Russia amounted to $9.8 billion, nearly 30 percent lower than the combined $13.7 billion between Uzbekistan and China.
China has held the lead so far this year, according to Uzbek government officials. Bilateral trade with China reached $3.01 billion in the first quarter of 2024, followed by Russia at $2.5 billion. If the existing pattern holds for the rest of the year, Uzbekistan’s bilateral trade with Russia will remain flat, while total trade with China will decline.
Uzbekistan is not an anomaly in the regional trade competition between Russia and China. According to official statistics for 2023, China surpassed Russia in terms of trade with all five countries in the region.
Provided by: Eurasianet.org
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