China’s customs agency revealed on Monday that trade between China and Russia dropped by 9.1% to $1,064.8 billion in the first half of 2025.
This decline in trade between these two authoritarian regimes seems to be rising, which is concerning for Russia given that China became its crucial economic partner after the invasion of Ukraine.
In the years 2022 and 2023, trade between Russia and China surged. This was largely due to many of Russia’s trading partners imposing sanctions post-invasion in February 2022.
Bilateral trade increased by 26% in 2023, reaching a peak of $237 billion in early 2024. However, the growth slowed to only 1.9% in 2024, and now trade is experiencing an overall decline.
Last year, exports from Russia to China plateaued, even as there was demand for Russian products in China. This demand sharply fell when the Russian economy hit a stagnation phase, particularly for high-value items like cars and home appliances.
China aims to sell cars to Russian consumers, which would provide a new revenue stream for its auto industry, especially amidst U.S. and European trade barriers. However, Russia has imposed hefty taxes on imported vehicles, putting pressure on foreign manufacturers and making it challenging for Russian buyers to afford Chinese cars or electric vehicles.
Additionally, U.S. sanctions have also affected Chinese exports to Russia, as financial companies in China are cautious of repercussions for supporting Russia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently lauded the “stable, mature, strategically valuable” ties between China and Russia during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday.
Wang emphasized that both nations wish to “deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, promote development and revitalization on each side, and jointly tackle the turbulence and challenges in the global environment.”
Interestingly, the two foreign ministers met for two days consecutively but did not officially address the ongoing war in Ukraine. Instead, they seemed to treat the “Ukrainian crisis” as an issue alongside the situation on the Korean Peninsula and Iran’s nuclear matters.
