During the meeting of State Leaders of China and Russia in 2005, Chinese president Hu Jintao and Russian president Putin decided to host the National Years between China and Russia from 2006 to 2007. In 2006, it was the Year of Russia in China, while in 2007, it was the Year of China in Russia. During the National Years, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Trade of Russia jointly sponsored the First and Second High Level Sino-Russia Economic Forums which were held respectively in Mar.,2006 in Beijing and in Nov., 2007 in Moscow. The two Forums, attended and addressed by leaders of both countries, were ranked top of the trade and economic activities in terms of scale and level. At the same time, those activities were granted warm appreciation and positive impact from both government and business community of the two countries.

In order to consolidate the result of the National Years, to promote the trade and economic exchanges, and to establish a long-term, stable and broad platform for exchanges and cooperation, China and Russia decided to set up the mechanism of High Level Sino-Russia Economic Forum. In the future, the Forums will be held alternatively by both countries, and the agenda and topics for each of the forums will be discussed and decided by both sides.