China’s Commerce With Russia Is Slowing But Still Growing

Beijing condemned Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine; hence, China’s overall commerce with Russia increased by more than 12% in March; it went down from February but still surpassed China’s total commerce growth.

Chinese customs statistics showed on Wednesday that shipments to and from Russia grew 12.76 percent in March to $11.67 billion, falling from a 25.7 percent rise in February, when Russia started its invasion. Nonetheless, the increase in March was quicker than the 7.75 percent gain in China’s total commerce with all nations and regions, which reached $504.79 billion in that month. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine in what Moscow billed as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing and “denazifying” its southern neighbor.

China Refuses to Call Upon Russia’s Invasion

Beijing has refused to label Russia’s actions as an invasion and has slammed what it considers to be illegitimate Western sanctions imposed on Moscow. China and Russia established a “no-limits” strategic alliance some weeks before the war on Ukraine. Last year, overall commerce between China and Russia increased by 35.8% to $146.9 billion, a new high.

As sanctions on Russia become severe, China may be able to alleviate some of the pain felt by its neighbor by purchasing more. On the other hand, analysts believe they have yet to see any significant evidence that China is breaking Western sanctions against Russia. China’s economic and commercial cooperation with other nations, such as Russia and Ukraine, is normal, according to customs spokeswoman Li Kuiwen.

China’s trade with Russia increased by 30.45% year on year in the first quarter; it stayed within the range of prior quarterly rises. China relies heavily on Russia for oil, gas, coal, and agricultural goods. Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin stated on Tuesday that Russia’s economy is on track to collapse by more than 10% in 2022 due to increasing inflation and capital flight. Because of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the World Trade Organization (WTO) lowered its prediction for global trade growth this year on Tuesday.