China's exports to Russia surge 19.7% in first two months of 2026

BEIJING, March 10 (Reuters) - China's exports to Russia surged in the first two months of 2026, Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday, as the country's overall outbound shipments turbocharged into the new year.

KEY DETAILS

• Exports to Russia in yuan terms in the January-February period jumped 19.7% from the same period a year ago, while imports rose 1.7%. Two-way trade grew 9.4% year-on-year to 273.98 billion yuan ($39.78 billion).

• In February alone, China's shipments to Russia soared 54.7% from the previous year, according to Reuters calculations of customs data. Imports from Russia declined 3.7%.

• Russian crude oil shipments to China in January-February nearly doubled from a year ago, said Muyu Xu, a Kpler analyst, after India cut purchases and left more cargoes available to China at lower prices.

• A more detailed breakdown of the data will be released later in the month.

• The expanded shipments to Russia were part of a broader export surge. China's exports growth quickened significantly to 21.8% in U.S. dollar terms for the first two months of the year, blowing past the median forecast in a Reuters poll for 7.1% growth.

• Trade with Russia had pulled back in 2025 from a record year in 2024, declining for the first time in five years.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a virtual meeting last month. Putin praised the two countries' close energy partnership as mutually beneficial and strategic, while Xi called for a "grand plan" to further expand bilateral ties.

($1 = 6.8867 Chinese yuan)