China’s trade with Russia hit a record US$190 billion last year, the government said on Friday (Jan 13), even as Russia’s imports from the European Union fell on sanctions related to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

China’s 2022 exports to and imports from Russia accounted for 3 per cent of China’s total trade, Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, told a news briefing.

Shipments of Chinese goods to Russia have grown for six months in a row.

Russia more than doubled its rail exports of liquefied petroleum gas to China in 2022 as part of the Kremlin’s drive to diversify its energy export sales, a Reuters analysis based on data from industry sources showed on Thursday.

China’s imports of Russian natural gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline are set to have risen by at least 50 per cent in 2022, according to Russia’s top producer, Gazprom. China’s Russian crude oil imports expanded 10 per cent on year in the first 11 months at nearly 80 million tonnes.

China’s trade with Russia slowed sharply in dollar terms in December, with exports up 8.3 per cent from the same month last year, down from November’s 17.9 per cent rise, according to Reuters calculations based on Friday’s Chinese customs data.

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Imports from Russia rose 8.3 per cent, slowing from a 28.5 per cent gain in November, as a surge in Covid-19 infections following China’s abrupt end to severe restrictions weighed on domestic demand.

But with the dismantling of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, however, Russia and China are ready to resume mutual travel as soon as possible and deepen their strategic cooperation, Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia, said this week.. REUTERS