China's yuan-denominated exports to Russia fall for eighth straight month

BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) - China's yuan-denominated exports to Russia fell for an eighth straight month in November, though the pace of decline slowed sharply from October, data from Chinese customs showed on Monday.

Shipments to Russia dropped to 67.71 billion yuan ($9.58 billion) in November, 5.1% less than the same month last year. Exports plunged 22% in October.

Imports from Russia rose 3.2% on-year, accelerating from October's 2.5% growth.

Exports to Russia in the January-November period were down 11.2% from the same period last year.

China's customs administration did not include a breakdown of the data by product.

China's overall exports growth beat expectations in November following an unexpected fall in October, driven by a surge in shipments to non-U.S. markets as manufacturers stepped up trade with the rest of the world in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's prohibitively high tariffs.

Bilateral trade between China and Russia, however, has cooled this year following a record year in 2024.

Chinese auto exports to Russia fell 58% in the first nine months of the year, industry data showed, after Moscow doubled the fee on Chinese vehicle imports to $7,500.

Russia raised the levy after China flooded its market with cars – expanding its share from 21% in 2022 to 64%, or about 900,000 vehicles, in 2024, according to GlobalData.

For the first 11 months, overall China-Russia trade fell 8% to 1.46 trillion yuan.

($1 = 7.0681 yuan)