Introduction. Russia and China have a long history of cooperation, which consists of both periods of rapprochement and periods of cooling. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the fact that today the countries actively interact in a wide range of areas, one of which is the trade and economic sphere. The process of establishing trade relations between Russia and China has its roots in the distant past. The purpose of the study is to identify and characterize the stages of development of Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations.
Materials and methods. The information basis of the study was scientific publications, official documents of Russian-Chinese relations. The research was based on scientific publications, official documents of Russian-Chinese relations XVII–XXI centuries. The results obtained through retrospective analysis made it possible to analyze the history of Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations, and the analytical generalization of historical and political science material contributed to the identification of the general trend of trade relations between the two countries.
Results. Based on the established historical experience, having identified its patterns, it became possible to draw certain conclusions about the current state and development of Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations. Chinese wisdom says: "When you drink water, remember the source – look back at the path, you have traveled". The conducted historical and political analysis of trade and economic relations will allow new researchers to identify the main areas and prospects of interest of the People's Republic of China in trade relations with the Russian Federation.
Discussion. The conducted analysis allows us to conclude that historical facts confirm the dual nature of Russian-Chinese relations. In historical retrospect, we can note the problems of trade and economic relations that exist today. The problem of transportation due to the remoteness of the central regions of Russia from China, the dependence of trade on the internal state of states, the influence of external economic factors.
Conclusion. After each period of tension in trade and economic relations between Russia and China, both states sought to find a compromise and come to the harmonization of relations. The following stages of trade and economic relations between the countries can be distinguished: pre-revolutionary, soviet period and the modern stage. Historically, Russian-Chinese trade and economic cooperation has been built on the principles of friendship and mutual understanding, which gives reason to speak about the possibility of further positive trends in this direction.