3 ways China and Russia are forging much closer economic ties
China’s spending on Russian goods soared 60% in August from a year ago, hitting $11.2 billion, according to Chinese customs statistics, surpassing July’s 49% gain. Its shipments to Russia, meanwhile, jumped 26% to $8 billion in August, also accelerating from the previous month. For the first eight months of this year, total goods trade between China and Russia surged 31% to $117.2 billion. That’s already 80% of last year’s total — which stood at a record $147 billion.
“Russia needs China more than China needs Russia,” said Keith Krach, former Under Secretary of State for Economic growth, Energy and the Environment in the United States. As the war in Ukraine drags on, Putin’s losing friends fast and increasingly becoming more and more dependent on China,” he added.
