It is no surprise to see Russia talk up their deepening ties with China as both countries have not been shy to reaffirm their support for one another in recent times. For some context, Russia's trade turnover with China increased by almost a third - nearing $190 billion. And that figure is expected to increase further to $200 billion and above this year.

Given the latest trends, Russia may well overtake the US as China's biggest trade partner in the next decade if relations between the latter two do not improve in the years ahead - which looks very much like the baseline scenario.