The article is devoted to the dynamics of economic relations between Russia and China in the new environment. Thanks to the foundation of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation laid in the early 2000s, the countries manage to increase trade and economic interaction in the conditions of sanctions pressure on Russia and the changing economic and political situation around China. Against the background of China's increased economic activity after the end of the «zero-COVID» period, 2022 and 2023 were characterized by a significant increase in mutual trade turnover, primarily due to increased the supply of Russian energy resources to China. In 2023, Russia became the main supplier of hydrocarbons to the Chinese market. In addition to crude oil, exports of petroleum products have grown significantly, so that in 2023 almost 30% of petroleum products purchased by China are of Russian origin. Exports of Russian food ingredients and products to China are growing. Analysis of Russian imports from China shows that the share of high-tech products, cars, trucks, industrial machinery, machine tools, machinery, and equipment has grown significantly, replacing the goods of Western manufacturers that left the Russian market. Due to the delayed demand of the previous period, sales of Chinese consumer electronics and vehicles to Russia became record-breaking in 2023. Special attention should be paid to the increased purchases of integrated circuits, radio navigation equipment, and primary batteries in China. An important aspect of Russia-China economic cooperation continues to lie in the growing cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, including assisting China in creating a closed nuclear fuel cycle and building fast neuron reactors, which were previously only available in Russia. Russia is also helping China build and maintain the more traditional nuclear power plants with water-cooled reactors. Restraining factors in the development of cooperation at this stage are underdeveloped conductive transportation and logistics infrastructure, spatial remoteness of major suppliers from consumers, the risk of secondary sanctions, and growing tensions in the region.
Russia; China; economic cooperation; trade; exports; oil and gas resources; high-tech imports; nuclear energy; infrastructure; investments; sanctions; geopolitics.