BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s yuan-denominated exports to Russia dropped in October at the steepest rate in eight months, government data showed on Friday, as a slow down in demand and disruptions from Western sanctions weighed on bilateral trade.
The shipments to Russia fell 22% last month from a year earlier to 60.46 billion yuan ($8.49 billion), the seventh drop in a row. Exports had fallen 21.2% in September.
Imports from Russia grew in October by 2.5% from a year earlier, slowing down from 3.8% in September.
China’s exports to Russia in the first 10 months of 2025 fell 11.9% from the same year-earlier period.
China’s customs administration did not include a breakdown of the data by product.
China’s overall exports in dollars unexpected slumped last month following months of front-loading to beat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Trade momentum between China and Russia has slowed following a record year in 2024, despite efforts by both sides to insulate cross-border commerce from Western pressure.
Beijing faces headwinds from U.S. tariffs and technology curbs while Russia grapples with mounting Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
Chinese state oil majors suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies, Reuters reported last month.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited China this week for talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Xi Jinping.
Both sides pledged a joint response to unilateral sanctions, and Xi affirmed Beijing’s commitment to advance cooperation in various fields including energy and agriculture.
In the January-October period, overall China-Russia trade fell 8.7% to 1.31 trillion yuan.
($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; editing by Neil Fullick)
