According to government data, Russian exports to China outweighed Chinese imports to Russia for the first time in the recent 13 years. The news arouses mixed feelings. On the one hand, the statistics indicates positive trends. Indeed, Russia cut imports of low-quality consumer goods from China, contracted trade deficit, and widened export sales. On the other hand, scrutinizing the contents of shipments from Russia and China, one thing strikes the eye immediately. The two trade partners deliver stuff of completely different nature. So, Russia gains dubious benefit from this trade practice even with a trade balance proficit. In fact, Russia sells nothing but commodities to China such as crude oil, mineral fuel, and lubricants. At the same time, Chinese imports to Russia consist of goods with added value like smartphones, computers, spare parts for vehicles, and devices.
From the impartial viewpoint, it looks like swapping gold for plastic beads on a massive scale. To be honest, the rest of China’s trade partners follow roughly the same principle. Nowadays, cheap consumer goods from China are flooding the global market. If Russia aims to scale down Chinese imports, anyone would welcome this news. Last year, Russian exports to China totaled $56.065 billion, exceeded Chinese imports by $3.9 billion. China imported its good to the value of $52.218 billion in the reporting period. According to Russia’s Federal Customs Service, China has been Russia’s top trade partner among other overseas suppliers. In 2018, Chinese imports accounted for 15.7% in foreign trade of Russia. The second meaningful importer to Russia is Germany with its 8.7% share in Russia’s foreign trade.
