Deputy Central Bank Chairman Viktor Melnikov told journalists on the sidelines of the forum that neither the U.S. nor the European Union was afraid of China's expansion on the world commodities market.
"If we want to be transparent, it is not practical to neglect China's expansion," Melnikov said, adding that China is leading the world in economic growth. "Last year China's share in global GDP growth was 24%, compared with a U.S. share of 18%."
According to Melnikov, China will not dominate the Russian market since many other countries invest in Russia. "Any country is interested in competition of foreign capitals on its market," the banker said.
Melnikov praised China for including the Russian ruble in its "currency basket," noting that the ruble's influence on Chinese foreign exchange policy would depend on the development of bilateral trade.
"Now a large amount of our bilateral trade is being serviced by our countries' banks. The credit line from Chinese banks for Russian banks is over $900 million," he said.
According to Melnikov, China invests in different sectors of Russia's economy, including energy and construction. Russia and China signed contracts amounting to $1.5 billion at the Russian-Chinese investment forum in St. Petersburg this summer, including contracts on construction projects near St. Petersburg and on joint production facilities with Russian electricity monopoly RAO UES.
