Russia-China Trade Plunges 9% in 2025, Down $11 Billion

[Hol]

The decline in trade between the two authoritarian powers appears to be accelerating, which is bad news for Russia since China has become its most indispensable economic ally following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trade between Russia and China grew quickly in 2022 and 2023, as many of Russia’s other trading partners imposed sanctions after the Ukraine invasion in February 2022.

Bilateral trade grew by 26 percent in 2023, reaching a record high of $237 billion at the beginning of 2024 — but that growth slowed to a trickle in 2024, down to just 1.9 percent, and now trade between Russia and China is in outright decline.

Russia’s exports to China largely stopped growing last year while Russian demand for Chinese goods plummeted as the Russian economy stalled out last year, especially regarding big-ticket items like automobiles and household appliances.

Russia-China Trade Plunges 9% in 2025, Down $11 Billion

China’s customs agency releases data that showed trade between China and Russia slipped by 9.1% to $106.48 billion in the first half of 2025.

www.breitbart.com

 

[Margery]

Both Russia and China are losing ground within the BRICS group too, as the other economies like Brazil and India are improving.

This sort of thing makes me think that The Restrainer, is restraining here too. Slowing down the friendship and cooperation between these big founders of the SCO and BRICS, both set up to sidestep US sanctions as well as topple the Petrodollar as the world reserve currency. The SCO is set up more like a rival to NATO with many of the same participants.

Russia's economic woes continue to increase. Their main export to China is Oil, and China's engines are slowing down a bit as production of exports hits a falling demand. So China isn't using as much and the two frenemies are feeling grumpy at each other. That is normal for them. It's abnormal when they cooperate too much.

I'm interested in the alternative economy that is growing out of the EU now as they sidestep the tariffs and cement trade bonds around the globe. That looks to me like the future Rome 2.0 getting itself ready for the AC. They are getting oil from elsewhere, not Russia and trade with China from the EU is down while trade with South Korea, Japan, and other countries is up.

What I see is Gog Magog getting ready for their role, all while the EU and associated economies move into advanced trade and military liasons.

China and Russia were hoping to hit that target, become the world's multipolar influencers, but they are forced to slow down their plans for world dominance at least economically while the EU starts to find it's feet economically and militarily.

It'll still be a few years before the EU has a hope of challenging either Russia or China or both together, but it's changing fast.