China-russia Investment Opportunities While four countries, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, form the acronym BRIC, the first two are often overlooked in favor of the latter. While Brazil too deserves its moment in the sun, this piece will focus on Russia, its growing relationship with China, and its ever-increasing attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment.At first glance, Russia may seem like a den of iniquity. Corruption abounds,Ray Ban 3269 Sale, laws are squishy, and state enterprises prowl the business landscape with unfettered access to capital and resources. Thankfully, however, this gloomy picture is a little distorted.A snapshot of Sino-Russian tradeFor Russia and China, this year marks the 10th anniversary of their signing the China-Russia treaty on good neighborliness,Cheap Ray Ban 2110, friendship and cooperation, as well as the 15th year anniversary of the establishment of mutual partnership.Over the past five years, Sino-Russia trade has nearly tripled in value. Trade has been mainly composed of natural resources: in 2010, crude oil and natural resources made up 48.5 percent of overall bilateral trade (something which will likely remain consistent as China continues demand energy inputs to fuel its rapid growth). China has then used those inputs, and then sent low to medium-value equipment back to Russia. Machinery and electronic products accounted for 68 percent Chinas exports to Russia in 2010.In November, both nations pledged to drop the dollar when trading bilaterally, opting instead to use local currencies. That same month,Cheap Ray Ban 81040, a 866 kilometer-long railway opened, connecting Russias largest port city on the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok, with Northeast China.In January, an oil pipeline linking Daqing in Chinas Heilongjiang Province and Skovorodino, a Russian city, officially began production, and is expected to transport 15 million tons of crude oil per year, with a 30 million ton per year benchmark set for the immediate future.In February, EuroSibEnergo PLC (Russias largest independent power company) and China Yangtze International (Chinas largest listed hydropower producer) announced an official JVYES Energo Ltdto develop hydro and thermal power projects in Russian Siberia.Bilateral ties have been strong for quite a while, and will likely only get stronger.A glimpse into Russias economyBy nominal value, Russias economy is the 10th largest in the world. By geography, Russia is the worlds largest country. According to UNESCO, it also has the worlds largest supply of energy and mineral resources (e.g., natural gas, oil, coal, precious metals, arable land).Growth rates have been fairly impressive since the Soviet Unions collapse in 1991. Under Putin, Russias GDP doubled, and rose from being the 22nd largest economy in the world to the 11th. The size of Russias middle class has grown from 8 million to 55 million people during those same years. However, Russias massive geography, untapped natural resources, and relatively low position on the global value chain indicates a huge potential for growth that is still yet to come.During Russias transition from a command economy to a market-based one, many industries were privatized. Nevertheless, privatization schemes often fell short as previously state-owned enterprises were simply transformed into politically-connected behemoths. Today, most sectors in Russia are vertically integrated, and heavily concentrated in the hands of a few powerful firms.While such a picture may seem daunting, its precisely how Chinas economic landscape looked not too long ago.