China-Russia trade hits record high with a 26.6 percent y-o-y growth in 2021

The first direct China-Europe freight train linking southwest China's Guizhou Province and Russia's Moscow pulls up in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Nov. 18, 2021.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Trade between China and Russia saw robust growth of 26.6 percent year on year in 2021, with a record high bilateral trade volume exceeding 900 billion yuan, the General Administration of Customs said on Thursday.

China's exports rose 24.7 percent year on year to 436.43 billion yuan in the last year, maintaining a year-on-year growth for six consecutive years while imports jumped 28.2 percent from a year ago to 512.23 billion yuan.

Over 60 percent of imports from Russia were energy products and minerals during the last year, with coal and natural gas imports growing 148.7 percent and 70.5 percent respectively.

China also markedly increased imports of agricultural products from Russia. Beef imports hit 20,000 tonnes from January to December, up 210.2 percent year on year while seed oil imports surged 56 percent year on year, data showed.

Meanwhile, China exported 268.45 billion yuan worth of mechanical and electrical products to Russia during the period, representing a year-on-year increase of 32.5 percent and accounting for 61.5 percent of China's total exports to Russia, 3.6 percentage points higher than the previous year.

China's machinery and equipment, auto parts and auto exports grew faster, up 82 percent, 37.8 percent and 165 percent respectively.

China's exports of labor-intensive products to Russia reached 85.77 billion yuan, up 2.5 percent and accounting for 19.7 percent of the total.