You're reading: Russia, China to draft study for Eurasian economic partnership agreement

The Russian Economic Development Ministry and Chinese Ministry of Commerce have signed a statement on a joint feasibility study for an agreement on Eurasian economic partnership.

Maxim Oreshkin, the Russian economic development minister, and Zhong Shan, the Chinese commerce minister, signed the agreement in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Moscow on July 4.

The Russian ministry’s press office said the document “sets down the main goals of the feasibility study, on which experts from both sides plan to finish work within six months.”

“This is a study of concrete aspects of the economic side of the all-embracing Eurasian partnership – an initiative, that Russia and China agreed to promote on June 25, 2016, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China,” the ministry said.

“During work on the feasibility study, experts from the two countries will look at the prospects for the evolution of a Eurasian economic partnership, including via an economic and mathematical assessment of the benefits and risks from the conclusion of specific agreements in the trade, economic and investment spheres. The future study will also cover the conceptual aspects of such partnership, including how it relates to other important Russian and Chinese integration initiatives, for example China’s One Belt, One Road initiative,” it said.