China-Russia Trade Surges to Record High in 2023.

China's trade with Russia has seen its biggest increase since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with bilateral trade totaling over $93.8 billion from January to May 2023, a 40.7% increase compared to the same period last year. China's exports to Russia have reached $42.96 billion since January 2023, a 75.6% increase compared to 2022. Russia has been hit by unprecedented Western sanctions since it invaded Ukraine and has been shut out of much of the global economy, but China has thrown the Kremlin an economic lifeline, tempering the impact of its banishment from the global financial system.