Europe 1 with AFP 08:49, January 12, 2024

Trade between Beijing and Moscow reached an all-time high in 2023, while at the same time, trade between Washington and China declined for the first time since 2019. China and Russia, two neighboring countries, have notoriously grown closer politically and economically since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Trade between China and Russia hit a record high in 2023, while trade with the United States fell for the first time since 2019, official Chinese figures showed on Friday. China and Russia, two neighbouring countries, have notoriously grown closer politically and economically since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which Beijing has not condemned.

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$240.1 billion worth of goods and services between Moscow and Beijing

Last year, China and Russia traded $240.1 billion worth of goods and services, according to China Customs. This figure is up 26.3% year-on-year. Beijing and Moscow had set their annual target at $200 billion, which was already an all-time high. This threshold was crossed in November. Conversely, trade between China and the United States last year experienced its first decline since 2019, amid geopolitical tensions between the two largest economies.

In 2023, China and the United States traded $664.4 billion worth of goods and services. This is a decline of 11.6% year-on-year. The last annual contraction was in 2019, as a result of former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war against Beijing. Trade between the two countries subsequently surged during the pandemic, with China being the world's leading supplier of Covid-19 products. In 2022, trade between Beijing and Washington reached a record high of $759.4 billion.