Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov publicly admitted that bilateral trade between Russia and China began to decline rapidly in 2025. It is worth noting that this is the first time since the beginning of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Analysts suggest that China's decreased purchase of key raw materials from 'aggressor countries' and reduced exports to Russia, particularly in the automotive sector, have contributed to the trade decline.
- The Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Anton Alikhanov, acknowledges the challenges faced in maintaining trade relations with China amid geopolitical tensions and market volatility.
Russia is facing a new serious problem
Official Beijing confirmed that during January-July 2025, bilateral trade between the countries decreased by 8% year-on-year to $125.8 billion.
What is important to understand is that in the previous three years it doubled and even reached a record 245 billion.
The Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Anton Alikhanov, made a statement on this matter:
"This year we are seeing a certain decline in mutual trade," he complained.
According to the Russian minister, the deterioration of the situation was influenced by Western sanctions, certain forms of external economic pressure, as well as volatility in certain commodity markets.
Analysts from the Russian Gaidar Institute draw attention to the fact that, according to the results of the first half of 2025, official Beijing sharply reduced the purchase of almost all key raw materials from aggressor countries.
Moreover, it is indicated that exports of goods from the PRC to the Russian Federation decreased by 9%, in particular due to imports of cars, which fell by as much as 61%.
