China’s trade with Russia reaches a record level, while a decline with USA

According to official data released by Beijing today (Friday), trade between China and Russia reached a record level in 2023, while trade with the United States declined for the first time in four years due to geopolitical tensions, according to the French news agency.

According to customs data, trade between China and Russia has reached over $240 billion, exceeding the target of $200 billion set by the neighboring countries in bilateral meetings last year.

The number is considered a record for the two countries, which have been politically and economically close since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Beijing has faced criticism from Western countries for its stance on the Ukrainian war, which China insists is neutral, despite refusing to condemn the invasion.

According to the data, the numbers represent an increase of 26.3 percent from year to year.

On the other hand, trade between the United States and China declined for the first time since 2019.

Trade with the United States reached a volume of 664 billion dollars last year, a decrease of 11.6 percent compared to 2022.

During a press conference, Assistant Minister in the General Administration of Customs, Wang Lingjun, stated that China’s economy will encounter obstacles in 2024.

He emphasized that the complexity, intensity, and uncertainty of the external environment are increasing, and we must overcome the challenges and make more efforts to support the growth of foreign trade further.

As the data has shown, Chinese exports experienced a decline of 4.6 percent over the course of the year, marking the first decrease since 2016. Meanwhile, imports also decreased by 5.5 percent.

The domestic economic data appeared bleak today, as figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that contraction in China continued for the third consecutive month in December. The consumer price index declined by 0.3 percent on an annual basis. China had experienced its first contraction since 2021 in July. After a short-lived recovery in the following month, prices continued to decline since September.