China and Russia continue to forge new economic and trade partnerships. The first four months of the year saw banner numbers between the two countries. And as the China-U.S. trade dispute drags on, it may mean more opportunities for Sino-Russian cooperation. CGTN's Liu Yang has more.

China's neighbor to the north continues helping its economic and trade figures head in a northerly direction. Cooperative achievements between China and Russia run the gamut, from nuclear energy to infrastructure to digital economy and more. According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce, China is Russia's largest export market and the largest source of imports. Bilateral trade totaled over 33 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months of 2019, up 5.8 percent.

LUO WEIDONG, DIRECTOR EURASIAN AFFAIRS DEPT., CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "In 2018, under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral trade exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars. In 2019, bilateral economic and trade cooperation faces good opportunities and a good start."

In 2018, China and Eurasia's Economic Union signed several economic and trade agreements, some of which are expected to be implemented this year. Experts say this will further facilitate cooperation between China and the Eurasian region.

LUO WEIDONG, DIRECTOR EURASIAN AFFAIRS DEPT., CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "This year, we have also maintained active communication with Russia on the China-Russia Eurasian economic partnership and will choose the opportunity to formally launch the negotiations. In short, 2019 will be a year that the bilateral economic and trade relations are expected to be lifted on the basis of last year."

Experts say Chinese and Russian companies are also jointly developing a wide-body long-haul airliner and producing liquefied natural gas.

LIU YANG BEIJING "In a recent event, China and Russia pledged to strengthen cooperation along the Yangtze and Volga rivers. On May 23rd, local governments from both areas signed an array of cooperation deals. This unique mechanism has proven fruitful in trade, investment cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. Russian authorities say Russia is ready to work with China to achieve more. LY, CGTN, Beijing."