China’s 2022 trade with Russia hit record $190 billion

China’s trade with Russia hit a record 1.28 trillion yuan ($190 billion) last year, the government said on Friday, even as Russia’s imports from the European Union fell on sanctions related to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

China’s 2022 exports to and imports from Russia accounted for 3 percent of China’s total trade, Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, told a news briefing.

Shipments of Chinese goods to Russia have grown for six months in a row.

Russia more than doubled its rail exports of liquefied petroleum gas to China in 2022 as part of the Kremlin’s drive to diversify its energy export sales, a Reuters analysis based on data from industry sources showed on Thursday.

China’s imports of Russian natural gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline are set to have risen by at least 50 percent in 2022, according to Russia’s top producer, Gazprom. China’s Russian crude oil imports expanded 10 percent on year in the first 11 months at nearly 80 million tonnes.

China’s trade with Russia slowed sharply in dollar terms in December, with exports up 8.3 percent from the same month last year, down from November’s 17.9 percent rise, according to Reuters calculations based on Friday’s Chinese customs data.

Imports from Russia rose 8.3 percent, slowing from a 28.5 percent gain in November, as a surge in COVID-19 infections following China’s abrupt end to severe restrictions weighed on domestic demand.

But with the dismantling of Beijing’s zero-COVID policy, however, Russia and China are ready to resume mutual travel as soon as possible and deepen their strategic cooperation, Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia, said this week.

That weakness is expected to continue well into the new year as the global economy teeters on the brink of recession, but China’s imports are expected to slowly recover in coming months after the government’s abrupt dismantling of strict COVID measures in December paved the way for the economy to reopen, releasing pent-up demand.

Exports contracted 9.9 percent year-on-year in December, extending an 8.7 percent loss in November, slightly beating expectations for a 10 percent fall, customs data showed on Friday. The drop was the worst since February 2020.

Imports fell 7.5 percent last month compared with a 10.6 percent decline in November, better than a forecast 9.8 percent decline. Despite the sharp falloff in shipments in the last few months, total exports rose 7 percent in 2022 thanks to China’s strong trade with Southeast Asian nations as well as an export boom of new energy vehicles. Still, growth was a far cry from a 29.6 percent gain in 2021.

Imports rose only 1.1 percent last year, down sharply from 30 percent growth in 2021. China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that slowing external demand and the rising risks of a global recession are posing the biggest pressures to the country’s trade stabilization, leaving “arduous tasks.”

An official factory activity survey showed a sub-index of new export orders has remained in contraction territory for 20 consecutive months. But the ministry said major exporting provinces have reported seeing some improvement in getting new orders.

After three years, Chinese authorities have finally removed anti-virus curbs that disrupted port logistics and shut down factories in key manufacturing hubs.

China posted a trade surplus of $78 billion for December, compared with a $69.84 billion surplus in November. Analysts had forecast a $76.2 billion surplus.

Policymakers have pledged to increase support for the economy as they are eager to underpin growth and ease disruptions caused by the sudden end to COVID-19 curbs.