NEWS

The agreement defines a framework for long-term cooperation, the purpose of which is to assist exporters in developing foreign trade and organizing international rail and multimodal transportation within the framework of the joint project of Eurasian Economic Union member states "Eurasian AgroExpress" to carry out accelerated rail and multimodal transportation of agricultural products and foodstuffs to China.

Artem Sharov, Chairman of the RTK Board of Directors, said: "Agricultural and food products are an important and sought-after component of Chinese imports, and if logistics aspects, as the Eurasian Agroexpress project implies, are effectively addressed, the volume of supplies can be increased significantly, and RTK's role in China with its wide range of commercial competencies both in "filling" agroexpresses with specific product range and in matters of product sales in China can apparently be hard to overestimate".

The Project Directorate and RTK have agreed to jointly work out demanded trade services in conjunction with a range of transport and logistics services, including fast and affordable containerized cargo transportation, providing multimodal solutions, assistance in finding, selecting and negotiating with Chinese buyers, a gradual transition to digital format and the provision of a range of services "from the supplier to the counter".

Alevtina Kirillova, General Director of the Directorate of the Eurasian AgroExpress Project - ANO Eurasian AgroLogistics, stressed: "The signing of documents meets the interests of business, which needs the regularity of shipments, availability of service and a firm understanding of the sales opportunities. The observed growth in the volume of shipments will allow the logistics operators of the project to transfer to regular scheduled route trains with long-term competitive tariff rates in the foreseeable future".

The partnership in the implementation of the "Eurasian AgroExpress" project with the RTK is focused on the growth of export deliveries of agricultural products and foodstuffs to the Chinese market. Taking into account unprecedented restrictions on Chinese supplies due to the pandemic, the projected annual volume by the beginning of 2023 is expected to be about 500,000 tons.

"The conclusion of trade and logistics agreements on China at the Eastern Economic Forum is symbolic, given the prospects for the "Eurasian AgroExpress" as a whole to the East. We note that the Agreement enshrines the general legal framework for the practical promotion of foreign trade in food products of the Union on the so-called "last mile", in the contour of the Chinese sales market, including a wide range of services that can be provided to suppliers from the Union countries," - said Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrey Slepnev during the signing ceremony of the Agreement.
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The Russian Trading Company (RTC) "Hua No E Xiang", created jointly by the State Corporation VEB.RF and the Russian Export Center (REC), is a commercial structure designed to help Russian companies to effectively integrate into the Chinese market and start exporting their products to the PRC in the shortest possible time.

A unique distinguishing feature of the RTC is the principle of "payment for results": it receives remuneration for its services only if the Russian company that applies successfully enters the local market.
Practical work on launching RTK is entrusted to VEB.RF subsidiaries - VEB Asia Limited, which develops VEB.RF projects in the Asia-Pacific region, and the Russian Export Center.

Artyom Sharov, CEO of VEB Asia Limited and general representative of REC in the Asia-Pacific Region, was appointed Chairman of the company's Board of Directors.

The REC is expected to act as the head office of the new company in Russia for interaction with Russian exporters on a "one-stop-shop" basis.

"The goal of the REC is to become a reliable cross-industry platform for foreign trade deals between Russian producers and Chinese consumers, assuming part of the risks of foreign trade on both sides and receiving a cost-reimbursement fee for this," says Artyom Sharov.

In accordance with the current Chinese legislation, RTK has the right to conduct trade and import and export operations, conduct consulting activities on a wide range of issues, act as an agent for partner companies to solve specific problems of organizing business in China, as well as to enter the share capital of other companies.