Putin to attend Eastern Economic Forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the Eastern Economic Forum today.

The annual forum looks to encourage foreign investment in the Russian Far East. Last year, more than 4,000 participants attended, including from South Korea, Japan and China, signing more than 380 trade agreements.

This year’s event will include a meeting of the Russia-China Business Council. Relations between the two countries have recently grown stronger, with Beijing opposing the sanctions placed on Russia after to its invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow supporting the One China principle. In a recent economic forum in St. Petersburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized Beijing’s commitment to trading with Russia, as well as its interest in cooperation on questions of sovereignty and national security.

Given that both Japan and South Korea have implemented sanctions against Russia, the forum is unlikely to have the same number of trade agreements signed as it did last year. While increased Sino-Russian strategic cooperation may benefit Moscow in the shorter term, particularly through the importing of high-tech products, the Ukraine war has significantly increased Russian dependency on China. As such, in the longer-term Moscow may be forced to accept unfavourable trade terms, and support China in other international disputes.