Mankevich: China can help Russia develop ASEAN markets

On June 16–18, the Russia–ASEAN summit was held in Kazan. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the intention to increase supplies of high‑value‑added products to Southeast Asian countries.

RAUIE Chairman Vitaly Mankevich, in a comment to Sputnik, noted that Russia's presence in ASEAN markets remains modest, with commodities still dominating the trade structure.

What stands in the way?

China is the number one trading partner for ASEAN countries, with colossal supply volumes ranging from microelectronics to complete engineering solutions. Chinese partners possess exactly what Russian businesses critically lack:

• established logistics chains
• deep knowledge of consumer preferences
• experience in large‑scale industrial localisation

What can Russia offer?

Resources, new materials, engineering expertise, and favourable conditions under preferential regimes.

Vitaly Mankevich's key message:

Increasing Russian supplies of high‑value‑added products to ASEAN countries is a challenging task. These markets are among the most competitive in the world, and most of the region's countries are themselves strong exporters.

"But with China's help, Russia is quite capable of solving this task. The Russia–China partnership has every opportunity to move from bilateral trade to joint value creation. I am convinced that the most promising, yet still underestimated, area of our cooperation is the joint export of high‑tech, deeply processed products to the fast‑growing ASEAN markets," the RAUIE Chairman said, commenting on the outcomes of the Russia–ASEAN summit.