(Yicai Global) July 6 -- During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia on July 3 and 4, the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF) said that it has made a strategic equity investment in China's steel e-commerce platform Zhaogang.com and that it supports Chinese and Russian companies.

RCIF became a new strategic shareholder in Zhaogang.com's most recent financing round, which was led by the site's existing shareholders China Renaissance Private Equity Fund and Beijing Jingxi Venture Capital Fund Management Co., and brought in more than USD73.5 million (CNY500 million).

RCIF has been watching Zhaogang.com for three years, said Hu Bing, the fund's president and co-chief executive. RCIF's backing will help the platform develop a presence in Russia and other countries along the One Belt, One Road route, Hu said.

RCIF was established by China Investment Corp. and the Russian Direct Investment Fund in June 2012. Its portfolio includes ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing; online education group VIP English; Detsky Mir PJSC [MCX:DSKY], Russia's largest children's goods retail chain; Russian Forest Products Group, the largest wood processing company in Russia's Far East; the Moscow Exchange MICEX-RTS PJSC [MCX:MOEX]; Magnit PAO [MCX:MGNT], Russia's largest supermarket chain and convenience store network; and PhosAgro PAO [MCX:PHOR], the world's biggest phosphate-based fertilizer producer. Investing in Zhaogang.com marks RCIF's latest attempt to back the business-to-business sector.

Zhaogang.com debuted in 2012 and is a leading third-party steel e-commerce platform in China in terms of transaction volume.