(Reuters) -China’s imports from Russia soared again in May, a boon for Moscow as it reels from the impact of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, while Chinese shipments to Russia fell for the third consecutive month.
China’s imports from Russia surged 79.6% in May from a year earlier, up from growth of 56.6% seen in April and 26.4% in March, according to Reuters’ calculations based on China’s customs data on Thursday.
China is a major buyer of Russian natural resources and agricultural products.
China is ramping up purchases of Russian oil at bargain prices, according to shipping data and oil traders who spoke to Reuters previously, filling the vacuum left by Western buyers backing away from business with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, an intervention Moscow described as a “special military operation” designed to demilitarise and “denazify” its southern neighbour. Western countries and their allies have since imposed sweeping sanctions.
The customs agency did not say on Thursday which products China had bought from Russia last month.
Shipments to Russia fell 8.6% in May from a year earlier, compared with a 25.9% drop in April.
China has refused to call Russia’s action an invasion and has repeatedly said its trade with Russia remains normal.
In April, Russia’s foreign ministry said it expected commodity flows with China to grow and trade with Beijing to reach $200 billion by 2024, the Interfax news agency reported.
(Editing by Gareth Jones)
