Trade between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China is booming amid the Western sanctions war on Moscow, with cheap Russian energy making Chinese factories more profitable and Chinese vehicles rapidly replacing Western ones in the Russian market.
Commerce between the two countries has already cleared $200 billion for 2023. Reports indicate Russian chocolates, sausages, and other goods have become “plentiful” in Chinese stores, with Russia-linked locations becoming popular sites for Chinese social media influencers.
More significantly, the volume of Russian natural gas transferred to China through its Power of Siberia pipeline has increased, with negotiations to construct a second pipeline from gas fields that once supplied the European Union well underway.
As Chinese manufacturers reap the benefits of this cheap energy while their Western and especially European rivals struggle with high costs, exacerbated by self-inflicted green policies, they are also benefiting from Western manufacturers having cut themselves off from the Russian market. Chinese automakers, whose market share in Russia was just eight percent in 2021, now hold a dominating 55 percent share.
Western expectations of economic collapse in Russia have proved ill-founded, with the country continuing to source artillery shells, missiles, and other key equipment for its war more easily than Ukraine.
