The volume of monthly trade between China and Russia in May reached the highest level since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to data published today by the General Administration of Customs of the Asian country.
The value of exchanges between the two countries reached 141,820 million yuan (18,630 million euros) last month, a value that represents a growth of around 51%, compared to May 2022, and the highest since February 2022 .
Between January and May 2023, trade between the two countries amounted to 646.1 billion yuan (84.840 million euros), data that represents an increase of 53% compared to the same period of 2022.
In 2022, Russia was the trading partner with which China recorded the biggest increase (+34.3%) in trade denominated in the Chinese currency, the yuan.
Trade between China and Russia amounted to 1.28 billion yuan (174,879 million euros) in 2022, a value that represented 3.03% of total Chinese foreign trade during that year.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, China has maintained an ambiguous position, in which it called for respect for the “territorial integrity of all countries”, including Ukraine, and attention to the “legitimate concerns of all countries”, in reference to Russia.
The presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, proclaimed a “new era” in bilateral relations, in 2022, and signed an agreement that included, among other things, an increase in trade, to around 250,000 million dollars annually.
