China can switch to the Russian market to replace American products amid the ongoing trade war with Washington, Russian Economy Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin has announced.

Beijing considers Moscow a reliable partner, according to the minister, and the volume of trade between the two countries is growing above last year’s record of US$108 billion. While Beijing and Washington are embroiled in a simmering trade war, Sino-Russian relations are going through a “renaissance,” and this could further boost bilateral trade.

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“What they [China] used to buy in the US, we are now actively discussing agriculture and other sectors with our Chinese partners to switch them to the Russian market,” Oreshkin said as cited by RIA Novosti.

After US President Donald Trump’s threats ended the shaky truce between the two sides, the Chinese government ordered a halt on purchases of US agricultural products earlier this week. The move is considered by many to be a painful blow to Trump as his key electorate, farmers, have already been struggling to cope with declining prices and sales of crops.

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In July, China’s Commerce Ministry said it is in talks with its Russian counterparts to boost bilateral trade, particularly by increasing imports of Russian soybeans and other agricultural products as Beijing tries to diversify supplies away from the US. Later that month, Beijing greenlighted purchases of soybeans from all Russian regions.

In 2018, trade turnover between Russia and China enjoyed historic growth of nearly 25 percent, reaching $108 billion. Now the two countries have even more ambitious plans to double trade turnover in the next few years.

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