Beijing: It is anticipated that President Xi Jinping's ninth trip to Russia as president of China, which will include a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, will lead to greater economic cooperation between the two nations after their bilateral trade increased by 29.3% annually to US$190.3 billion last year.

As tensions with the United States and its allies over the Ukraine war have been driving Russia and China closer together, last year's bilateral trade figure represented an increase of 116% over a decade ago.

China surpassed Europe to become Russia's top energy customer in the last year, and Russia has also become more dependent on Chinese goods, from computer chips to automobiles.

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Since 2013, China has been Russia's largest trading partner. Last year, China ranked China as its 10th-largest trading partner in terms of overall value.

The total value of trade between China and Russia increased by 29.3% to US$190.3 billion last year from US$147 billion in 2021, according to data from Chinese customs. 

Russian imports increased by 43.4%, while Chinese exports went up by 12.8%. An increase in China's purchases of Russian energy products was primarily responsible for its growth.

Because energy trade is the most significant component of their relationship, China has a trade deficit with Russia as opposed to the majority of other nations. The most valuable good traded between China and Russia is crude oil, which makes up half of Chinese imports.

China's top energy supplier and second-largest crude oil exporter after Saudi Arabia is Russia. China's crude imports from Russia rose by 8% in volume but by 44% in US dollar terms last year, reaching a record high due to the rising cost of energy during the conflict in the Ukraine.

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The amount of coal and natural gas that Russia exported to China in 2022 increased significantly, both as liquefied fuel and through pipelines.

While Chinese exports to Russia initially slowed down a little due to a decline in demand, increased shipping and payment uncertainty, and a fear of secondary sanctions on the part of Chinese businesses, exports quickly picked up as Russians realised that Chinese products were the best option to fill the void left by Western firms.

Various electrical and mechanical products, ranging from smartphones to large manufacturing equipment, make up more than 40% of Chinese exports to Russia, according to data from Chinese customs.

To protect themselves from pressure from the West, the two sides have also been attempting to conduct more bilateral trade in their respective national currencies.

Last year, a significant development occurred when they decided to settle payments for Russian natural gas supplies to China equally in roubles and yuan.

Foreign direct investment has long primarily focused on Russia's oil and petrol sector. However, prior to the Ukraine War, Europe and not China provided the majority of foreign investment into Russia.

According to People's Daily, China's investments in Russia as of 2020 were estimated to be worth US$12.07 billion, or just 9.9% of what Europe invested in Russia.

Chinese investors have increased their activity in Russia, according to a report released in December by the Eurasian Development Bank. China's foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 27.4% between 2016 and 22.

Sputnik, a state-run news outlet, cited Russia's first deputy prime minister, Andrey Belousov, as saying that China's cumulative FDI in Russia increased by 75% in the first half of 2022.

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Belousov declared that the two parties would encourage increased investment cooperation in the fields of oil and gas, chemicals, transportation, infrastructure, renewable energy, and cutting-edge technology. In the resource-rich Far East of Russia, a number of joint infrastructure projects between the two nations were finished last year.

In June, the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk bridge over the Amur River was inaugurated, and in September, the Quanzhou-Fast East shipping line embarked on its inaugural voyage. 

Additionally, in December, the 2,200-meter (7,218-foot) Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge went into operation. Analysts noted that Western sanctions continue to be a significant barrier to further Chinese investment in the nation.