China Is Turning Its Back On Russia

• 29.10.2025, 14:56

The volume of trade is falling.

In the first nine months of this year, the volume of Russian-Chinese trade amounted to $163.6 billion - it is 9% less than in the same period of 2024. This was told to "RBC" by the Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, referring to the data of the customs services of China. In particular, the supply of Chinese cars to the Russian market in January-September decreased by 55%. Last year, trade turnover between China and Russia set a record, reaching $244.8 billion.

The diplomat said that the decline in trade began amid the traditional decline in activity during the New Year period and since then has failed to get into the plus side. "The drawdown that has occurred seems to have a number of objective reasons. Firstly, over the past three years our trade has almost doubled, by $100 billion. After such rapid growth, there is a natural adjustment," Morgulov said.

Gradual saturation of the Russian market with Chinese goods leads to the fact that the volume of new deliveries is declining, the ambassador said. Among other reasons for the decline in trade volumes, he named a drop in world prices for raw materials that Russia supplies to China, currency fluctuations and Western sanctions.

"The latest example is Washington's sanctions announced late last week against major Russian oil companies and Brussels' inclusion of a number of Chinese companies in the 19th package. We regard this as an attempt by the West to increase pressure on Moscow and Beijing, and at the same time to gain additional bargaining chips in trade negotiations with China," Morgulov said.