Development of Relations Between Russia and China Within the Framework of the BRICS

Karolina Koval - exclusively for infoBRICS

- One of the key principles of the BRICS is the pursuit of a fair world order. In your opinion, what role does Russia see for itself in the formation of a multipolar world, especially in the context of comprehensive strategic partnership with China? To what extent is Russian-Chinese interaction actually becoming the pivot around which a new architecture of international relations within the framework of the BRICS is being constructed?

- Russia and China, together with India and Brazil, were the initiators of BRICS. Our joint efforts have been an important contribution to the development of the grouping, to the formation of a more just and balanced multipolar world order that would meet the needs of all countries and peoples without exception.

In matters of expanding BRICS engagement, our countries look in the same direction. In a spirit of continuity, building on the legacy of previous chairmanships – Russia's and Brazil's, as well as the current Indian one – aim to continue joint work to strengthen the BRICS' authority as one of the pivotal mechanisms of global governance and in the coming "watch" of China in 2027 alignment.

Among the main tasks, we see the increasing role of developing countries and emerging market countries in collective decision-making on key issues on the world agenda, both economic and political.

- How is Shanghai, one of the world's major economic centres, participating in the implementation of the BRICS cooperation projects?

Shanghai is the world's leading financial and economic centre. This is one reason why this city was chosen as the location for the headquarters of the New Development Bank, the flagship BRICS project.

We see the Bank as one of the vehicles for the modernisation of the economies of the Global South and for increasing their importance in the world financial system. Among the key areas of activity for the NDB in the medium term are increasing the availability of finance for equity holders, increasing the share of national currencies in the Bank's operations and focusing its project work on sectors important to national economies in most countries, such as energy, infrastructure, health and support for innovative industries.

Today, the portfolio of the NDB comprises about 140 projects with a total value of over $43 billion. We are in favour of broadening the membership of the Bank, primarily through new participants and partner countries of the BRICS, and turning it into an effective multi-level development institution of a new type, which would meet the realities and needs of developing countries in the XXI century.

- What concrete initiatives in the area of trade and investment are being developed between Russia and China with the support of the BRICS mechanisms?

The BRICS countries are oriented towards achieving tangible results in the trade and economic sphere, as reflected in the outcome documents of the grouping, adopted at the summits and relevant ministerial meetings.

These have, inter alia, recorded support for the development of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise, including through the promotion of digital services and platforms aimed at streamlining business conduct in the BRICS space.

Special attention within this sub-track is given to electronic commerce, including in the context of providing adequate protection of the rights of its participants, the development of online tools for the resolution of trade disputes and the creation of enabling environments for the access of BRICS business to global markets.

One of the vector applications of effort in the BRICS space is the development of special economic zones as a mechanism to promote trade and industrial cooperation and the development of manufacturing, including high-tech sectors of the economy, information technology, tourism, port and transport infrastructure, technology development and commercialization, and the production of new types of value-added products. Special economic zones provide additional opportunities for the BRICS countries to stimulate investment and create new jobs, particularly in high-tech and infrastructure sectors.

Work is under way on implementing financial instruments that enhance resilience to external risks. These include increased use of national currencies in mutual payments, development of payments and clearing and deposit infrastructure, creation of a reinsurance capacity, launch of a BRICS grain exchange and a new investment platform. These projects are intended to provide equal access to financial instruments and reduce national economies' vulnerability to unilateral restrictions.

Of course, the yardstick for all initiatives in the financial and trade and economic fields is their practical implementability, effectiveness and contribution to the sustainable development of the BRICS countries. This remains our unambiguous priority.

- Shanghai is a key hub for both the Bric and the SCO. How do you see the key difference in the missions of these two organisations? If the SCO has traditionally focused on security and stability, what is the unique added value of the Bric grouping to the economic and political dialogue?

The SCO is an organization, the BRICS is a dialogue platform, a grouping.

The BRICS agenda is not limited to the economic sphere. Under the three broad tracks of the multilateral engagement – political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and human contacts – a wide range of issues are addressed, with the exception of military co-operation.

Actively promote the expansion of the range of economic cooperation between the participating states. Particular emphasis is placed on increasing the resilience of supply chains and value-added, the development of e-commerce, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the establishment of contacts along the lines of special economic zones.

In addition, increased attention is being paid to ensuring energy and food security. As accomplishments in these areas, the participants noted the adoption of the Roadmap for BRICS Energy Cooperation 2025-2030 and the work of the Energy Research Cooperation Platform.

We attach special importance to the launch of the BRICS Grain Exchange, an investment platform under the BRICS SEZ Investment Navigator. We look forward to the development of engagement in the BRICS+ Diamond Dialogue Platform, and the discussion of the BRICS Precious Metals Exchange.

Joint work on specific projects to enhance co-operation between tax, customs and anti-monopoly authorities is continuing.

How is BRICS helping SMEs to access markets in partner countries? Are there any successful examples of Russian companies in Shanghai?

- In the context of restructuring global supply chains, the strategic importance of SMEs' collaboration within the BRICS is emerging.

Active work is under way to create a "seamless" environment for the development of small and medium-sized business. In practical terms, the promotion of SMEs is being pursued on several fronts – development of recommendations, creation of dedicated platforms for dialogue in the BRICS, launch of specific support mechanisms.

The focal points for this work, in addition to the lead agencies, are the Business Council (BC) and the Business Women's Alliance (BWA) of the BRICS, whose efforts are aimed at building engagement between the public and private sectors in the countries of the grouping, as well as facilitating contacts directly between business people.

The task of the BC is to identify problematic issues and difficulties impeding the growth of economic, trade, business and investment cooperation between the BRICS countries, as well as to formulate proposals and recommendations for its development. Within the BC working groups, proposals are prepared for project-based cooperation, the identification of "neck-stuck" places, impeding interaction in each specific sector is carried out, and recommendations are developed for their elimination.

The Women in Business Alliance brings together women entrepreneurs from the countries of the Alliance. The key priorities of the Alliance's activities are the development and promotion of women entrepreneurship in the BRICS space, the inclusion of women business on the international agenda and, as a result, facilitating the expansion of areas of cooperation between the entrepreneurial communities of the countries of the Alliance.

Prominent in strengthening SME-to-SME collaboration is the BRICS SME Forum, held annually by the rotating presidency of the grouping. This year's Forum took place on 19 June in Agra, India.

The BRICS Partnership Mechanism for the New Industrial (Digital) Revolution (PartNIR) has high practical results, serving as an effective platform for technological co-operation among the countries of the grouping, enabling the principles of inclusive industrialization to be put into practice, transfer of advanced digital solutions, and attracting investments into significant projects.

From 2025, the BRICS Centre for Industrial Competences has been launched, based at the UNIDO secretariat and aimed at enhancing technological capacity, industrial co-operation and the creation of more resilient supply chains between the countries of the grouping.

As for the presence of Russian companies – yes, over 30 representative offices and branches of major corporations from our country are working here quite successfully. Among them are: VTB-Shanghai Bank, Norilsk Nickel, "Novostal-M", RusAl, NLMK, MMK, MetalInvest, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, Far East Shipping Company (FESCO), North West Fishing Consortsium, Lukoil, KamAZ, Russian Export Center, "United Confectioners", "Svitlogorye", Russian-Chinese Aviation Enterprise "CRAIC".

- What measures are being taken to protect the rights of Russian businessmen operating in China?

- As the cooperation between our countries in practical areas is getting more active, the number of Russian entrepreneurs, companies operating in the PRC is also increasing. Unfortunately, when the scale of interaction increases, one cannot avoid the scaling up of risks for the participants in specific transactions, related to breach of contract conditions, unscrupulous conduct of counterparties, and so on.

At the Consulate General, Russian citizens can obtain notarization, passport processing, legalization, conduct and obtain necessary documents, etc.

An important nuance is that a consular office does not have the ability and, crucially, the authority to directly intervene in the settlement of commercial disputes with Chinese counterparties. However, we provide advisory services to Russian citizens and companies, including clarification of Chinese legislation. The website of the Russian foreign office has relevant advice for Russian participants in the EDI on the specifics of working in China.

In particular, they state that dispute settlement in China is possible both in an extrajudicial manner – by negotiation and submission of claims – and by recourse to an arbitration body specified in the contract or to a court at the domicile of the respondent. According to the bilateral Legal Assistance Treaty of 19 June 1992, the parties mutually recognize each other's arbitration decisions and nationals of both countries are accorded equal protection by the law in the territory of Russia and China. The websites of the Russian foreign office in China also carry, for reference and informational purposes, lists of law firms with experience in resolving commercial disputes.

Russian businessmen are also advised to contact the Russian Trade Representative Office in Beijing or its branch in Shanghai, which provides protection of the legal rights and interests of Russian companies, including through direct interaction with the competent Chinese authorities (Mofcom and regional commerce bureaus).

For the evaluation of the reliability of counterparties in the preparation of transactions, you can also turn to the Trade Representative Offices and the representative offices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia in Beijing and Shanghai.

- What changes have been made recently regarding the visa regime or rules for Russians staying in China?

In September 2025, the Chinese side decided to introduce a visa-free regime for Russian citizens, holders of common passports for overseas travel, for stays of up to 30 days in the PRC. This applies to Russian citizens planning to travel to China for tourism and business purposes, as well as for participating in various humanitarian exchanges, visiting relatives, or for transit to third countries. The visa-free regime does not apply to persons arriving for work, study, journalism, as well as drivers, freight forwarders and interpreters. Relatives of Russian citizens working or studying in China, as well as employees of Russian foreign missions, who plan to come to the PRC to visit their relatives, will still need to apply for visas.

It should be noted that the final decision on granting visa-free entry is made by a Chinese migration official directly at the entry point. Border guards have the right to refuse entry to Russian citizens whose purposes do not conform to the requirements of visa-free entry, or who have already been prohibited from entering China.

We strongly recommend that you bring additional supporting materials (hotel reservation, air ticket, invitation from the host, etc.)

We also recommend taking out medical insurance for the duration of your stay in China. The passport validity period should cover the entire period of your stay in China. Travel across the country is permitted within the period, except for areas with special entry regimes for foreigners (e.g. Tibet Autonomous Region).

Moreover, under the existing procedure, foreign nationals are required to register with the police at their place of stay within one day of entering the country.

- Has the coronavirus pandemic affected the work of the consulates and what new formats of services to citizens have been introduced?

- The coronavirus pandemic has definitely affected our work. There was a reduction or in some periods a complete cessation of the reception of citizens, there was a significant reduction of the interaction with Chinese institutions, other consulates. We are glad that this episode is behind us and would not want it to return.

As for new formats – the diplomatic service and the consulate as part of it are very conservative, so innovation is not always taken kindly by us, but that doesn't mean ossification, of course. There is certainly some flexibility depending on the specific conditions.

Arguably the most notable thing that has happened since the pandemic is the possibility of electronic appointment registration at the General Consulate and the issuance of electronic visas. This has led to changes in the number of visitors to the Consulate General, as well as in the reallocation of their priorities.

Emergency situations, requiring a creative and unsentimental approach on the part of our employees, have always been. We try to help everyone who comes to us, as far as possible.

- What cultural events are organized by the Consulate to strengthen the Russia-China relationship?

The General Consulate has fewer opportunities to hold cultural and mass events than the embassy, so it can be more about facilitating rather than independently organising cultural events.

In this context, we disseminate information through social networks (Telegram, VKontakte) about the museum exhibitions, concerts and theatre productions taking place here, involving Russian creative collectives. If necessary, we support the organizers, advise them and help with communication with local institutions.

We also support the Russian Club in Shanghai, where active compatriots living in the consular district gather, and organize their own events – a Russian Day timed to coincide with the birthday of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, and laying of flowers at the monument in Shanghai, New Year or Christmas celebrations, children's events.

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