On the evening of October 20, 2026, the gangway lights at St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport came on. Li Qiang's chartered flight flew from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan - a few hours ago, he had just attended the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states there. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernenko, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, and others welcomed under the gangway. This is Li Qiang's first visit to St. Petersburg, and on the evening of his arrival, there was no briefcase included: Mishustin invited him to visit the Imperial Village Museum Reserve and attend cultural activities together.

Shaking Hands by the Neva River

On the morning of the 21st, the official meeting began with a welcoming ceremony, followed by small-scale talks between the two prime ministers. On the Russian side, the seats were neatly arranged: Deputy Prime Minister Golikova, Novak, Chernenko, Minister of Economic Development Leshetnikov, Minister of Science and Higher Education Falikov, Minister of Far East and Arctic Development Chekhenko, Director of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service Chihachin, and representatives of relevant departments attended.

This is the 31st regular meeting between the prime ministers of China and Russia. This mechanism was launched in 1996 and has been held as scheduled every year for 30 years, regardless of how the international situation changes. It is regarded as an important channel for translating the consensus of the heads of state into specific projects. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China Russia strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China Russia Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. The timing itself carries weight.

Growth over 30 times in 25 years

Mishustin gave a comparison during the talks: despite the increasingly complex external environment, Russia China economic and trade cooperation still maintains a good development trend; The trade volume between the two countries has grown over 30 times in the past 25 years, and the proportion of local currency in bilateral trade settlements has approached 100%.

The latter half of the sentence is particularly intriguing. Over a decade ago, almost all bilateral trade was settled through the Western banking system via the US dollar and euro; Nowadays, the direct payment and settlement of rubles and Chinese yuan is equivalent to basically stripping away the external risks in the settlement process. From almost zero to almost everything, this curve was not drawn on a single document, but was built on the foundation of cross-border logistics, customs clearance processes, and financial infrastructure.

The other side of numbers is structure. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade volume between China and Russia will reach 227.9 billion US dollars in 2025, stabilizing at the 200 billion US dollar level for three consecutive years. China has maintained its position as Russia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years; In the first seven months of 2026, the bilateral trade volume has reached 159.24 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 26.3%. The proportion of electromechanical and high-tech products continues to rise, and China's exports of automobiles, household appliances, and mechanical equipment to Russia remain strong, while Russia maintains stable supply of energy, minerals, and agricultural products.

Expand the cooperation map further

Li Qiang stated that in recent years, China and Russia have used dynamic and resilient cooperation to hedge against the instability and uncertainty of the external environment. The path of cooperation has become wider and the pace has become more stable. Both sides have clearly stated that they will focus on areas such as economic and trade investment, energy and resources, connectivity, aerospace, finance, and industry, while cultivating new driving forces in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digital economy.

During the meeting, the two prime ministers listened to the work reports of five committees on investment cooperation, energy cooperation, cultural cooperation, regular meetings between prime ministers, and intergovernmental cooperation between Northeast China and Far East Russia, fully affirming the achievements of the past year. After the meeting, both sides signed the Joint Communique of the 31st Regular Meeting between the Chinese and Russian Prime Ministers and reached a series of bilateral documents in the fields of economy, trade, aerospace, science and technology, education, etc.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Li Qiang also met with Russian President Putin to exchange views on cooperation in energy, agriculture, space, civil nuclear energy, transportation and other fields, and agreed to host the China Russia Education Year and expand cultural, tourism, sports, and youth exchanges.

From the Dushanbe conference table to the signing pen on the banks of the Neva River, within two days, a meeting linked the milestone of the 25th anniversary of the treaty signing, the nearly 100% settlement ratio in local currency, and a new list of cooperation. In an uncertain world, this certainty itself is a scarce commodity.Editor/Yang Meiling