In ResearchGate, "References" are the citations (also called references) inside your publication of other publications. "Citations" are the citations by other publications of your own publication. It takes some time until a publication will be cited, so at the beginning there are references, but no citations. But note that ResearchGate is far from being perfect in identifying references and citations, so the numbers may be underestimated.

Citation refers to a brief mention made within a research manuscript that indicate the source of information or ideas used in academic writing. This is done by mentioning author’s name and publication year of the research paper that has been cited. References, on the other hand, are listed at the end of a research paper acknowledging the sources used in writing such a paper, showing more information than citations. Therefore, when your research paper is cited, your last name and publication year will be mentioned within the research manuscript of the paper that cited yours; and your full name, title of your paper, publication date, and publisher’s name will appear as References at the end of the same paper. Research Gate, Google Scholar, etc. count the number of citations made to your paper/s and list and update that in your stats.