How China became the new master of Russia's economy

Russia may celebrate its "no-limits" partnership with China — a phrase coined when President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met just before the Ukraine war — yet those relations are increasingly one-sided. Although bilateral trade softened last year as a result of lower oil prices, Russia’s goods exports to China have nearly doubled since February 2022, when Moscow's full-scale invasion began. In 2024, Russia shipped roughly $129 billion (€111 billion) worth of goods to China — the overwhelming m

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air calculated that China has bought more than €319 billion ($372 billion) of Russian fossil fuels since the conflict began, giving Moscow vital hard currency to fund its military amid Western sanctions. In return, China exported nearly $116 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2024, supplying machinery, electronics and vehicles that replaced Western suppliers who exited the Russian market. Although Beijing has stopped short of direct exports to Russia of finished military hardware, China has supplied billions of dollars' worth of dual-use goods — civilian products and technologies that also have military applications. These have also helped sustain Russia’s defense industry. As Putin and Xi prepare to meet in Beijing this week for high-level talks — timed to mark the 25th anniversary of the two countries' cooperation treaty — this growing imbalance leaves Moscow increasingly vulnerable to Beijing’s priorities. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Why is Russia increasingly reliant on Chinese technology? Western sanctions , imposed since 2022 and repeatedly tightened, have severed Russia’s access to advanced Western technology. The United States , European Union , United Kingdom and allies banned exports of semiconductors, microelectronics, precision machine tools and other dual-use goods critical for weapons production. These moves created acute shortages in Russia. In response, Moscow turned to China, which, according to Bloomberg, supplied roughly 90% of Russia’s sanctioned technology imports in 2025 — up from 80% the previous year. Obtaining goods like machine tools for missile and drone assembly is far more difficult and expensive than before the war. Russia must utilize complex evasion networks through third countries and often ends up paying premiums of nearly 90% above pre-war prices.

Key points

• The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air calculated that China has bought more than €319 billion ($372 billion) of Russian fossil fuels since the conflict began, giving Moscow vital hard cur…
• In return, China exported nearly $116 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2024, supplying machinery, electronics and vehicles that replaced Western suppliers who exited the Russian market.
• Although Beijing has stopped short of direct exports to Russia of finished military hardware, China has supplied billions of dollars' worth of dual-use goods — civilian products and technologies th…
• These have also helped sustain Russia’s defense industry.
• As Putin and Xi prepare to meet in Beijing this week for high-level talks — timed to mark the 25th anniversary of the two countries' cooperation treaty — this growing imbalance leaves Moscow increa…