Bilateral trade with China could reach $200 billion, Russian minister says

Trade between Russia and China should reach the $200 billion mark before the end of the decade, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Monday.

Rogozin said during a bilateral trade meeting in China the right strategies were in place to reach a bilateral trade level of $200 billion before 2020.

"We have a task formulated by the leaders of Russia and China," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a regional visit in May that stronger ties with China could be forged through work in the energy sector.

First deliveries from a 30-year, $400 billion contract between Russian energy company Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. would start with the delivery of 1.3 trillion cubic feet through a Russian gas pipeline to China as early as 2018.

Gazprom has sought entrance into the growing Asian market in an effort to diversify an asset base tied to a European economy still struggling to grow.