In the first ten months of 2025, trade turnover between China and Russia decreased by 8.7% to $184.7 billion.
This is evidenced by data from the General Administration of Customs of the Peopleʼs Republic of China.
Chinese goods shipments to Russia fell by 11.9% to $83.5 billion. Russian exports to China, mainly energy, also fell by 5.9% to $101.2 billion.
For comparison: in 11 months in 2024, trade between Russia and China exceeded $200 billion. At that time, European sanctions against Russia forced it to turn to the Chinese market for everything from cars to computer chips. Moscow, meanwhile, sold oil and natural gas to Beijing at deep discounts, The New York Times reported.
Chinaʼs total trade with the world during this period increased by 3.6% to $5.3 trillion. The largest partner is the EU, with which trade turnover increased by almost 5% to $696.2 billion.
At the same time, trade with the US fell by 15.9%: Chinese exports to the States decreased by 17%, and imports of American goods by almost 12%.
In October 2025, Chinese companies suspended purchases of oil from Russia following US sanctions. In particular, these include “PetroChina”, “Sinopec”, CNOOC, and “Zhenhua Oil”.
Reuters noted that China imports nearly 1.4 million barrels of Russian oil daily by sea, with most of that supply coming from independent refineries, including smaller companies, which are also likely to temporarily suspend purchases.
- On October 23, the United States imposed sanctions on “Rosneft” and “Lukoil", Russia’s two largest oil and gas companies. A number of their subsidiaries were also added to the sanctions list. The US imposed the sanctions “due to Russia’s lack of serious commitment to the peace process” and “President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war”.
Author: Anastasia Zaikova
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