BEIJING : Trade between China and Russia totaled almost $42.5 billion in the first five months of 2019, marking a 4 percent increase year-on-year, data published by the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.
Chinese exports to Russia contracted by 0.7 percent in January-May compared to 2018, falling to $18.2 billion. At the same time, China imported $24.3 billion worth of Russian goods, which is almost 8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the customs service.
In May, Chinese imports of Russian products also prevailed over exports and reached $5.3 billion. Almost $3.8 billion worth of Chinese goods were exported to Russia over the period, the customs’ data showed.
China’s foreign trade overall dropped by 1.6 percent in January-May year-on-year to $1.8 trillion. The country’s exports grew by a mere 0.4 percent, while imports contracted by 3.7 percent over the period.
In 2018, Chinese-Russian trade exceeded a $100 billion goal set by the two countries’ leaders, amounting to more than $108 billion and demonstrating a 24.5 percent growth compared to the previous year, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service.
Those results were in line with the overall surge in China’s foreign trade last year, when it reached $4.6 trillion, increasing by 12.6 percent year-on-year.
