Russia and International Trade within the SCO, EAEU and BRICS
Taliya Minullina:
“Recently, Russia has been actively developing economic cooperation within the framework of such international organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and BRICS. These associations provide a platform for strengthening trade and economic ties and promoting multipolarity in the global economy.
Today, the winner is the one who uses a multi-vector approach and activates all available opportunities of its economic agenda. In the context of new geopolitical realities, these organizations provide significant potential for sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as for overcoming modern challenges.”
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) The SCO, founded in the early 2000s, today includes 10 member states, including Russia, China and India — the largest economies in the world. Recently, Russia has significantly increased its trade volumes with the SCO countries, which illustrates the trend of reorienting foreign trade flows to the eastern and southern directions. The organization already covers about a third of the world's GDP, as evidenced by its active participation in international trade and capital flows.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has become an important player in the global economy due to the active development of its member countries, including such economic giants as China and India. These countries continue to demonstrate significant economic growth: in the period from 2010 to 2023, the average annual GDP growth rates of China and India were 6.8% and 6.1%, respectively. Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus also play an important role in the region, with their GDP, in terms of purchasing power parity, exceeding the world average. The economic potential of the SCO countries has contributed to the growth of their contribution to global GDP, which increased from 15.9% in 2000 to 32.6% in 2023. Forecasts for 2025 suggest an increase in this share to 33.7%. The development of the SCO is also noticeable in international trade: the combined share of member countries in global exports increased from 7% at the beginning of the century to 18.9% in 2023, in imports - from 5.5% to 15.7%.
Intraregional trade is increasingly taking up a place in the economic relations of the SCO countries. From 2010 to 2023, its volume increased from $228 billion to $604 billion. The main goods in mutual trade are machinery and equipment, mineral products and chemical products. These changes are due to Russia's reorientation to the East in response to sanctions pressure and a significant increase in trade volumes with China and India. One of the key areas of interaction is the exchange of direct investment.
The volume of FDI attracted to the SCO countries from 2000 to 2023 increased from $49 billion to $211.1 billion, and outgoing FDI from these countries - from $4.6 billion to $191.4 billion. China, India and Russia occupy leading positions both in attracting and providing investments. The SCO trade with Russia also shows stable growth. Foreign trade turnover with the Russian Federation for 2015-2023 increased by 2.9 times, reaching $342.3 billion. Exports to Russia grew by 36.3% in 2023, while imports increased by 17.4%. The greatest growth was recorded after the COVID-19 pandemic, when Russia was actively turning its trade flows to the East. It is obvious that the SCO countries, playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, are striving for integration and strengthening mutually beneficial economic ties. In the coming years, the key areas of their cooperation will be sustainable development, the digital economy, and the fight against poverty.
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
Within the EAEU, Russia focuses on the development of e-commerce. The Union has reached fundamental agreements on the maturation of regulatory framework for e-commerce aimed at harmonizing approaches and ensuring freedom of transactions.
E-commerce plays an important role in the economies of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries, presenting significant opportunities for both business and society as a whole. In recent years, digitalization and the development of the e-economy have become the main growth factors in the region. According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, the volume of e-commerce in the EAEU in 2024 was about $82 billion, which underlines the importance of this area. E-commerce helps solve key socio-economic problems, such as improving the availability of quality goods and creating jobs, especially in remote and rural areas. The lack of uniform statistics on the e-commerce market in the EAEU countries somewhat complicates the analysis, but there is data on significant volumes in Russia and Kazakhstan. The Union has set itself the goal of increasing the share of e-commerce to 30% of all retail trade by 2030. The key e-commerce platforms in the region remain the Wildberries and Ozon marketplaces, which account for 81.4% of the marketplace market in Russia. These platforms provide small and medium-sized businesses with excellent access to the market, actively promoting the export of goods from all member countries of the Union. The prospects for the development of e-commerce in the EAEU are associated with the adoption of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce. The document is aimed at harmonizing the conditions for doing business in e-commerce, simplifying cross-border document flow and protecting consumer rights. Thus, e-commerce in the EAEU not only stimulates economic growth and integration of the Union countries, but can also become an example for global regulation in this area.
BRICS: expansion and prospects
BRICS, which unites Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, has expanded in recent years: in 2024, Egypt, Iran, the UAE and Ethiopia joined it. These countries are developing cooperation in the scientific and technical sphere, innovation and energy supply. However, despite impressive successes, there are certain problems within the group: trade barriers remain, limiting full-fledged interaction at the level of free trade. Conclusion Russia confidently uses the opportunities of international associations to activate its economic agenda. In the context of new geopolitical realities, these organizations provide significant potential for sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as for overcoming modern challenges.
In 2024, Russia became the chairman of the organization, which emphasized its importance in the new multipolar world. One of the key events was the summit in Kazan, where the main areas of interaction between the participating countries were discussed.
The financial agenda of Russia's BRICS presidency in 2024 included strengthening the role of countries in the international monetary and financial system and developing interbank cooperation. The New Development Bank continues to finance projects aimed at infrastructure development and sustainable growth. Future challenges include different levels of economic development and the need to strengthen interregional monetary and financial systems. Prospects and directions of development BRICS continues to strive to diversify trade and economic cooperation and support the introduction of innovations and new technologies. Among the key areas, important ones are cooperation in food security, technology and environmental protection. The countries are also actively working to create conditions for the growth of mutual trade, which is especially important in the context of international sanctions. Ultimately, despite the existing challenges, BRICS retains its potential for active development and strengthening its positions in the international arena, contributing to the growth of a multipolar world.