Antonina Levashenko, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, spoke in a commentary for RIA Novosti on potential growth of titanium imports from Russia to China. According to the expert, this may be related to development of the PRC aerospace and chemical industries.
“It can be assumed that in order to develop the aerospace and chemical industries, China can increase imports of Russian titanium, as well as tantalum for production of semiconductors,” noted Antonina Levashenko.
She has also underlined that joint projects that help create infrastructure and new jobs could play an important role in this process. As an example, the expert cited the 2023 agreement between Russian and Chinese companies, which provides not only for titanium mining in the Arctic, but also for the expansion of the Arctic deep-water port of Indiga and construction of a railway.
Antonina Levashenko concluded that exclusion of Russia and China from some Western mineral resource associations could push countries to form their own trade alliances through long-term contracts.