China-Russia trade continues to increase

By Rhod Mackenzie

Trade between Russia and China in the first 11 months of 2023 grew by 26.7% year-on-year, reaching a historical record turnover level of $218.17 billion. This was reported on 7th December by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China in a statement.

According to the statistics, the volume of exports from China to the Russian Federation in January-November increased by 50.2% and amounted to about $100.33 billion. During the same period, imports of goods and services from Russia increased by 11.8% to $117.84 billion. In November alone, the volume of bilateral trade between the countries amounted to $21.5 billion, which is 8.6% more than in October.

The Russian Federation's main exports are oil, natural gas and coal. Other major exports include fuel, copper, timber and seafood. The volume of shipments of agricultural products is increasing. China, in turn, sends mainly industrial and special equipment, vehicles, toys and footwear to Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia's positive balance decreased by about 53% compared to the same period in 2022, reaching $17.51 billion, according to Chinese customs data.
Earlier, on 30 November, the Director of the Institute of Trade Policy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Alexander Daniltsev, predicted in an interview with Izvestia that the growth of trade turnover between China and Russia will continue in 2024. He noted that the goal of increasing the annual trade turnover to $200 billion has already been achieved according to the results of the first 10 months of this year.
Earlier, on 28 November, the Chinese Ambassador to the Russian Federation Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with Izvestia that trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia is currently developing both quantitatively and qualitatively. He recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met twice this year and reached a number of important agreements, including in the economic and trade spheres. The Ambassador believes that the countries' business communities will continue to work to implement these agreements.