Record-high trade flows last year between Russia and China that came despite the COVID-19 pandemic attest to the great progress made in bilateral cooperation, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said on Tuesday.

Denisov expects the two neighbors to further bolster economic and people-to-people exchanges in 2022.

Trade between China and Russia in 2021 reached $146 billion, a jump of 35 percent from the previous year, the ambassador told reporters at a news conference in Beijing. He stressed the scale of the achievement at a time when the world was battered by COVID-19.

Last year also marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Goodneighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

In another achievement, the China-Russia Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation concluded in November. As of that time, more than 1,000 events for exchanges on scientific innovation and cooperation had been held.

"A series of new achievements have been made between the two neighbors in the fields of politics, trade, technology and energy," the Russian ambassador said.

The Energy industry stands out in the trade relationship, with the sector accounting for more than 30 percent of the total bilateral trade, and the expectations are that it will keep rising.

China and Russia have been stepping up cooperation on energy, and the two sides vowed to further enhance cooperation in sectors like oil and gas, nuclear, petrochemicals and renewables, said Denisov.

Energy cooperation between China and Russia is expected to be further enhanced this year, the ambassador said.

Demonstrated ability

Speaking of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Denisov believes the sports gala will be held in a safe way and to the highest standards, and China will tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic, given its experience in fighting COVID-19.

"Last February I was invited along with many other foreign diplomats based in Beijing to visit the Zhangjiakou site of the Winter Olympics at the invitation of the Chinese Foreign Ministry," he said.

"By that time the construction of the venues was 95 percent finished. I was impressed. It demonstrated China's ability in organizing grand sports events."

Russia has voiced support for the Beijing Olympics, which start on Feb 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will attend the opening ceremony of the Games.

Denisov said Putin's visit will not only be the first in-person meeting between the two countries' top leaders in nearly two years but also a major event in international relations at the start of this year.

He said that all aspects of bilateral ties and cooperation are expected to be discussed during the visit.

Russia will send a delegation of more than 500 people to the Beijing Olympics, including athletes, coaches, medical workers and service support staff, said the ambassador, adding that it will be the biggest foreign delegation at the event.

With the Chinese-Russian Year of Sports having kicked off this year, the two countries will continue to promote exchanges in sports, the ambassador said.

Denisov also criticized the move by some Western countries not sending officials to the Games as counterproductive, and said such actions would ultimately fail.

Those efforts, together with the attempt by these nations to undermine China and serve their own political interests, are futile and groundless, the ambassador said. These countries will harm themselves in the end, he said.