Research on the Development Path and Optimization Strategies for the Russia-China Free Trade Zone

Unilateral protectionism has hit the multilateral trading system, and the global industrial chain is accelerating its reconfiguration. As members of the World Trade Organization and comprehensive strategic partners of the new era, Russia and China enjoy solid political mutual trust, have complementary industrial and trade advantages, and have broad space for cooperation. For fifteen consecutive years China has remained Russia’s largest trad-ing partner, while Russia is China’s top source of crude oil and natural gas; yet a bilateral free-trade area has long been absent. Standing at the 2026 crossroads of Russia-China relations, removing cooperation bottle-necks such as sanctions, exchange-rate volatility and trade-structure imbalance is vital for regional stability. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods with literature review and international comparison, this paper systematically surveys domestic and foreign research. Based on 2015–2024 bilateral trade data, it analyses of the Current State of Sino-Russian Trade, draws lessons from FTZ models worldwide, and thoroughly examines the necessity and feasibility of a China-Russia FTA. It finally proposes a tiered, phased and region-specific roadmap plus supporting oversight mechanisms, offering theoretical support and practical guidance for deep-ening high-quality bilateral economic cooperation, facilitating China’s economic transformation, and promoting Northeast-Asian regional integration.