Russia seeks to strengthen cooperation with China

A Russia intends to strengthen cooperation with China in shipbuilding through technological partnerships and joint investments, including the development of ships intended for navigation in the Arctic, said an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nikolai Patrushev, Presidential Adviser and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council, met this weekend in Beijing with Chinese Deputy Minister of Information Industry and Technologies Ke Jixin, according to a statement released today by the Russian body.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the possibility of Chinese shipbuilding companies becoming technological partners and suppliers of equipment for new industrial facilities in Russia.

Maritime cooperation was the main objective of Patrushev's six-day visit to China, which began on Thursday in Shanghai.

In the Chinese city, the head visited the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Shipbuilding Shipyard, one of the largest in the country, where he acknowledged that bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding remains “very limited”, but considered that there was scope to expand it.

“We could, for example, jointly build a series of ice-class ships on Russian shipyards, including vessels intended for Chinese Arctic shipping,” said Patrushev, during a meeting with company officials, according to Russian state television Rossiya-24.

“ This task is becoming increasingly relevant to China,” he added.

“Russia is currently developing a large-scale project for a transport corridor through the Arctic, thanks to which polar trade routes will become significantly more attractive and secure,” he said.

Moscow has intensified efforts to develop the national naval industry to strengthen defence and security capabilities.

In 2024, the Russian authorities created the Maritime Council, chaired by Patrushev, to coordinate the country's strategy in this sector.

Russia is also seeking to develop the Arctic maritime routes, while China sees in the region an alternative for the transport of its goods, in the context of aggravating geopolitical tensions.

Earlier this month, during the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Putin highlighted Russian investments in the construction of ships intended to operate in polar waters.

“ We built one of the largest shipyards in Russia, Zvezda, which is producing a fleet of large ships that not even the Soviet Union manufactured,” said the Russian President, referring to the facilities in the extreme East of the country.

“ We started the production of liquefied natural gas transport ships and large civilian vessels adapted to Arctic operations,” he added.

“ We know that our Chinese friends are also interested in this area,” Putin said.

During the visit to China, Patrushev also moved to Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, recognized for research in the areas of mechanical engineering, shipbuilding and ocean engineering.

He discussed strengthening cooperation between universities and research institutes in both countries, including the possibility of developing joint scientific projects and training programmes for the maritime sector.

Patrushev also visited the port of Yangshan, south of Shanghai (east), integrated into the port complex that leads the world classification in container handling for 16 consecutive years.

Putin's adviser advocated joint investments in the development of Russian port infrastructures.

“ We can carry out joint investment projects to develop docking and terminal infrastructure in Russian ports, taking advantage of the experience of phased construction of Yangshan port, carried out over a decade and a half,” said another statement from the Russian Maritime Council.