President Xi Jinping will meet President Vladimir Putin during the former’s visit to Russia from July 3. The two will sign “cooperative documents” relating to trade, Xinhua reports, as part of broader strategic discussions. That comes against the backdrop of a broader push by China to promote an extension of the BRICS group, as outlined in Panjiva research of June 19, as well as implementation of its belt-and-road initiative.

China’s imports from Russia climbed for eight straight months through May 31, official data shows, to reach the highest since March 2012. However, this was entirely the result of rising energy exports – in turn driven by higher prices. Energy accounted for 57.8% of Chinese imports in the 12 months to April 30, Panjiva data shows.

Chart segments Chinese imports from Russia by product. Lower panel shows change in totalSource: Panjiva

Panjiva analysis of China’s top 500 global exports, vs. those shipped to Russia, shows 50 export lines where there is an opportunity to increase sales by over $50 million annually, or nearly $8.1 billion in total. The leaders among these are semiconductors ($910 million), telecoms network equipment ($646 million), and solar power equipment ($236 million).

Chart compares Chinese exports globally to those to Russia as a proportion of total exports. Selected datapoints labelled show largest differences. Source: Panjiva