Trade between China and Russia reached a record level in 2023, up 26% year-on-year

Trade between China and Russia has reached a record level in 2023, according to figures published Friday January 12 by Chinese customs. Over the last twelve months, the two countries exchanged $240.1 billion worth of goods and services, up 26.3% year-on-year.

Beijing and Moscow had set their annual target at $200 billion, which was already a record. This threshold was crossed in November. China and Russia have strongly strengthened their cooperation since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, when Western countries allied with kyiv adopted economic sanctions against Moscow.

Conversely, trade between China and the United States experienced its first decline in four years in 2023, in a context of geopolitical tensions between the two leading economic powers. In 2023, China and the United States exchanged $664.4 billion worth of goods and services, down 11.6% year-on-year. The last annual decline dates back to 2019, a consequence of the trade war launched against Beijing by former US President Donald Trump.