China’s Technological Leap Opens New Opportunities for Russia — CEO of ED Group on RBC

On RBC’s Den. Glavnoye program, Andrey Prokhorovich, CEO of Eurasia Development Group (ED Group), commented on China’s changing role in the global economy and the prospects for Russia-China technological cooperation. The central topic of the discussion was China’s transformation from the “world’s factory,” integrated into Western production chains, into an independent technological center that is increasingly developing its own capabilities in industry, robotics, new energy, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals.

According to Andrey Prokhorovich, the structure of China’s dependence on the United States and other Western economies has changed significantly in recent years. China has already made a technological leap in a number of emerging industries — from electric vehicles, hydrogen energy, solar and wind power to robotics and telecommunications. As an example, he noted that in the humanoid robotics segment, around 80–90% of this emerging field is controlled by Chinese players. China has consolidated its position in 5G and is actively advancing in next-generation communications technologies, including 6G and quantum communications.

At the same time, Andrey Prokhorovich emphasized that China still has sensitive areas of technological dependence. These include semiconductors and aircraft manufacturing. In the semiconductor industry, China remains the largest producer by output volume: in 2025, production amounted to 484 billion units. However, in the most advanced segments, primarily lithography and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, China still lags behind global leaders. At the same time, according to the speaker, the gap is gradually narrowing even in this area: Chinese companies are developing mature process technologies, packaging and applied solutions for electronics, the automotive industry and telecommunications.

A separate part of the discussion focused on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Andrey Prokhorovich noted that China is no longer limited to the production of generics and is increasingly entering the international market with its own developments. While in 2020 the value of international contracts concluded by Chinese pharmaceutical companies and related to their own molecules amounted to around USD 5 billion, by 2024 this figure had reached USD 137 billion. China is expanding not only its production capacity but also its own research base.

The practical use of Chinese technologies by Russia was one of the main topics of the discussion. Andrey Prokhorovich noted that technology transfer and joint projects with China are possible, but their success depends on trust between Russian and Chinese participants, government support, commercial interest from businesses and clear project economics.

He cited robotics as an example. According to him, while Chinese manufacturers accounted for 11% of Russia’s robot imports in 2021, last year their share had already reached 87%. However, growth in supplies does not in itself mean an automatic transition to large-scale robotization. In a number of Russian industries, the economics of implementation are not yet justified: when comparing the cost of robotic solutions with labor costs, businesses do not always achieve a rapid return on investment. Therefore, as Andrey Prokhorovich emphasized, scaling such solutions requires systematic government support, similar to the way China once stimulated the development of its own high-tech industries.

During the discussion, other participants supplemented the technological context with a broader analysis of US-China relations. Sergey Zaversky, Head of the Analytical Research Department at the Institute for Comprehensive Strategic Studies and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Business of Moscow State University, noted that the economic rapprochement between China and the United States did not lead to significant political rapprochement. China retained its own system of institutions, while Chinese companies gradually became competitors to American businesses, including in the US market.

Vasily Kashin, Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at HSE University, emphasized that US-China dependence remains bilateral and extensive. According to him, China occupies critically important positions in many production chains — from rare earth materials and batteries to solar energy and components for unmanned aviation. At the same time, China itself remains vulnerable in civil aviation, certain segments of machine tool manufacturing, advanced electronics and the microelectronics industry.

Thus, technological cooperation between Russia and China has significant potential, but realizing it requires practical work — assessing project economics, finding reliable partners, setting up financing mechanisms, taking industry-specific factors into account and supporting negotiations at every stage.

Watch the program on the RBC channel:
https://tv.rbc.ru/archive/den/6a0582042ae5962eb7a4fc1e