The Federation Council Deputy Speaker took part in the 7th Russian-Chinese Forum for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.
Federation Council Deputy Speaker Nikolai Zhuravlev took part in a plenary session of the 7th Russian-Chinese Business Forum for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Path to Success, and held a working meeting with Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Hongzhong.
The events took place in Moscow as part of the Chinese delegation’s visit to Russia. Deputy prime ministers Marat Khusnullin and Dmitry Chernyshenko took part in the forum.
At the opening of the forum, the Federation Council Deputy Speaker read out a message of greetings from Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko. “Russia and China joined efforts to build a reliable economic cooperation system that is impervious to external influence and negative global market trends. The Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments, which entered into force in December 2025, will make the system even more robust, and businesses in our respective countries will operate in a more predictable and transparent environment. The Agreement will also ensure stable and predictable legal environment,” the message said.
Nikolai Zhuravlev stressed that the multi-pronged Russian-Chinese business relations are underpinned by the high level of bilateral ties between our states. “Under the leadership of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, cooperation between our countries has reached a whole new unprecedented level. The Russian and Chinese governments, as well as the legislative branches, are doing everything necessary to get the existing agreements implemented,” he said.
The senator noted the steady growth in bilateral Russian-Chinese trade amounting to almost 19 trillion roubles in 2025. He identified the almost complete transition to settlements in national currencies as an important factor to ensure stability.
Nikolai Zhuravlev placed special emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized businesses. “Large companies, or ‘national champions,’ play an indispensable role in any economy. However, small and medium-sized businesses are important as well. Our goal is to support their growth and cooperation with our friendly partners,” the Federation Council Deputy Speaker stressed. He said Russia and China were developing joint projects to promote exports. In particular, Made in Russia festivals sponsored by the Federation Council are regularly held in China, and dozens of companies from different Russian regions showcase their products to their Chinese partners. The senator added that Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko had instructed senators to monitor the promotion of regional brands.
In addition, Nikolai Zhuravlev and Russian Co-Chair of the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development Boris Titov held a meeting with Li Hongzhong, who co-chairs the Committee on the Chinese side. Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov and Krasnodar Territory Governor Veniamin Kondratyev attended the meeting as well.
The Federation Council Deputy Speaker highlighted the Committee’s special role in enhancing interparliamentary dialogue. The parties discussed key areas of cooperation.
Nikolai Zhuravlev highlighted the importance of interregional cooperation describing it as an area with enormous potential for growth. “The vast majority of Russian regions maintain trade and economic cooperation with China based on over 120 agreements between Russian regions and Chinese provinces in trade and the economy, as well as the humanitarian, and scientific and technological spheres,” the parliamentarian said.
“We also consider it important to maintain dialogue within the frameworks in which our countries play a leading role, such as the SCO and BRICS. These platforms seek to take into account the interests of all their members and partners, which is crucially important on the path towards building a fairer multipolar world order,” Nikolai Zhuravlev said in closing.