Trade between China and the Russian Federation saw a significant decline by the end of August 2025. According to Chinese customs, imports from Russia to China decreased by 17.8% year-on-year, while the volume of Chinese goods supplied to the Russian market fell by 16.4% compared to the same period last year. In comparison, this figure was 8.6% in July.
This is reported by Finway
Decline in Raw Material Exports and Trade Volume
Overall, for the first eight months of 2025, Russian-Chinese trade decreased by nearly 9%, amounting to ¥1.03 trillion, or about $145 billion. Russian exports to China dropped by 8.8%, while Chinese exports to Russia decreased by 8.2%. There has been a decline in the purchase of nearly all major types of Russian raw materials: oil by 11%, petroleum products by 28%, liquefied natural gas by 13%, timber and coal by 10%.
“The decline in trade between China and Russia, which began in 2025, continues to accelerate for the first time in three years since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine.”
China Opens Bond Market and Increases LNG Imports
Despite the prolonged decline in trade, Chinese financial regulators are preparing to open the domestic bond market to the largest Russian energy companies. This will be the first instance of corporate borrowing by Russia in the mainland Chinese market since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022. The last similar operation took place in 2017 when Rusal issued bonds worth ¥1.5 billion ($210 million).
Following the imposition of sanctions by the US and EU, Russian companies lost access to international capital markets. Chinese banks have long avoided cooperation with Russian entities due to the risk of secondary sanctions; however, as the partnership between Beijing and Moscow deepens, this attitude is gradually changing.
Additionally, China is establishing a special system for the regular import of liquefied natural gas from the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project, which is under US sanctions. A terminal in Beihai with limited international access has been designated for this purpose, allowing for the minimization of risks to the broader gas sector of the country from potential sanctions.