The volume of trade between China and the aggressor country russia in 2025 decreased by 6.5% compared to the record-breaking year of 2024. This is the first drop between the countries in the last five years.
It was reported by Reuters with reference to data from the General Administration of Customs of China.
Last year, the total trade volume between China and russia amounted to USD 234 billion. This is 6.5% less than in 2024, when this figure reached a record high of approximately USD 249 billion. The decline put an end to four consecutive years of growth. The last decline in trade occurred in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decline in China-russia trade in 2025 was influenced by a drop in demand for Chinese cars in russia and a decrease in the cost of crude oil imports to China.
According to Chinese customs, in 2025, exports from China to russia decreased by 9.9%, and imports from russia - by 3.4%. In December alone, China's exports to russia grew by 2.2%, breaking an eight-month decline, while import growth accelerated sharply to 17.1%.
Reuters notes that the published data only contains overall bilateral trade figures, with a more detailed breakdown expected later. However, from what was released last month, it can be concluded that from January to November 2025, the value of oil imports from russia to China fell by almost 20%.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in December 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that China and russia are strengthening cooperation in the military industry.
And in November, the Financial Times wrote that Chinese companies made russia pay through the nose for supplying goods needed for the russian military-industrial complex.
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