2023-06-20 10:48:13
China is Russia’s largest trading partner, with trade between them reaching a record high of $190 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data.
The Asian giant bought regarding 9.71 million tons of oil from Russia last month, compared to 5.4 million tons in February 2022 and 6.3 million tons the following month.
These figures show that China’s imports of Russian crude since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have almost doubled.
It is in line with trade figures released this month, which showed China’s trade with Russia has risen to levels not seen since February 2022.
Data published by Beijing showed that trade between the two countries last month amounted to 20.5 billion dollars, while the value of Chinese imports from Russia amounted to 11.3 billion dollars.
During a summit in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to boost trade to $200 billion in 2023.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last month that shipments of Russian energy resources to China are set to increase by 40 percent this year.
Beijing says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine war, but has been criticized by Western countries for its refusal to condemn Moscow and for its close strategic partnership with Russia.
“new era”
Speaking regarding the Russian economy this month, Putin acknowledged that the second quarter of last year was the “most difficult” with the West imposing unprecedented sanctions on his country.
Analysts say that China has the upper hand in the relationship with Russia, and that its influence is increasing with the deepening of Moscow’s isolation on the international scene.
In recent years, China and Russia have strengthened their economic and diplomatic cooperation, while their strategic partnership has been deepening since the invasion of Ukraine.
In February, Beijing issued a proposal calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict that Western countries said might enable Russia to keep much of the territory it seized in Ukraine.
During their March summit in Moscow, Xi invited Putin to Beijing and the two leaders declared that relations were “entering a new era.”
Last month, the Chinese president offered his “strong support” for Moscow’s “core interests” in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, whose visit was the highest-level visit by a Russian official to China since last year’s invasion.
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