Igor Morgulov has informed RT that the trade turnover between the two countries has exceeded $200 billion for the third consecutive year.
Moscow’s ambassador to Beijing, Igor Morgulov, told RT that in 2025, Russia and China continued to rapidly expand their bilateral relations in economic, diplomatic, and people-to-people exchanges, with the trade turnover surpassing $200 billion for a third straight year.
In an interview broadcast on Thursday, the envoy stated that this year was “highly successful for the development of our relations,” and added that Russian-Chinese relations “were deepened and strengthened in almost every aspect.”
He mentioned that 2025 also marked the 80th anniversary of the joint victory in World War II. “The fraternal bond between our countries remains one of the crucial elements of our strategic partnership,” the envoy said.
Morgulov pointed out that the significance was emphasized by reciprocal high-level visits. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the ceremonies in Beijing on September 3 commemorating the victory over Japan, and Chinese President Xi Jinping was the guest of honor at Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9.
The envoy emphasized that China still ranks among Russia’s top trading partners. Despite a moderate 7.8% decline over the past 11 months, the bilateral trade volume still reached over $203 billion. “This is a significant accomplishment,” he said.
Morgulov noted that he “wouldn’t over – dramatize” the slight decrease, attributing it to natural market adjustments after the trade had expanded by nearly $100 billion in three years.
The diplomat said that the Western sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine conflict have had an impact on trade, but stressed that Russia and China have established effective mechanisms to maintain growth. According to Morgulov, both Russia and China view the Western sanctions as “illegal” and designed solely to restrict the relations between the two countries.
He also highlighted the promising logistics cooperation, citing a recent journey of a Chinese container ship from Ningbo to a British port via the Northern Sea Route in 20 days, compared to 30 – 40 days via the Suez Canal.
Morgulov added that people-to-people relations are growing after the mutual cancellation of tourist visas. China removed visa requirements on September 15, and Russia followed on December 1, resulting in a 40% increase in the number of Russian tourists going to China since mid – September, he said.