Russia–Asia Dialogue: The role of Law in Strengthening Investment and Trade Cooperation with Business Partners in Asia

Throughout 2023, Russia continued its efforts to alter the structure of foreign business in the country, as an ever-increasing share of Asian partners entered the Russian market. Trade and economic interaction with Eastern countries continued to expand, and in some areas it virtually supplanted Western businesses. Russia and China are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2024. The two countries continue to actively develop their close partnerships. Trade between Russia and China increased by 27.7% in dollar terms in January–October 2023 compared with the same period of the previous year and amounted to USD 196.482 billion. Exports from Russia to China increased by 12.4% to USD 106.405 billion, while imports from China rose by 52.2% to USD 90.077 billion. Russia and India also continue to develop their relations, as Moscow and Delhi reconfigure business ties amidst sanctions. In April 2024, Delhi hosted the 24th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation after a five-year break. The two countries are seeing record volumes of trade turnover, which grew almost 2.9 times to USD 33.5 billion in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. Delhi has also stated that its partnership with Russia is one of the future drivers of India’s economic growth. Positive trends have also been seen in Russia’s relations with other BRICS countries. What steps does Russia need to take to improve legal mechanisms that aim to regulate business ties with its Asian partners? How can we ensure the security of foreign investments?