No significant changes in Russia-China trade amid global trade wars yet recorded - deputy minister

MOSCOW. April 29 (Interfax) - Global trade wars and increased tariffs have not yet affected Russia's foreign economic activity, including no substantial changes observed in trade with China, Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev said at the Foreign Trade: Growth Points in the Era of Economic Transformation conference in Moscow on Tuesday.

"So far, no [impact]. This situation will likely have some delayed effect in our view," Ilyichev responded when asked whether global tariff increases initiated by the U.S. are affecting Russia's foreign trade indicators.

The impact has been mitigated partly because the U.S. has suspended higher tariffs against several countries, though this doesn't apply to China, he said.

"Nevertheless, we're not yet observing significant changes in trade flows, even in trade with China," he said.

"Yes, certain trends exist: our trade [with China] has slowed considerably in volume due to factors we've previously noted - the recycling fee and the backlog of commercial and passenger vehicles accumulated last year. Accordingly, we're seeing some slowdown in deliveries of these goods to our territory, but so far we don't see any substantial changes in trade with China, neither in exports nor imports. Yes, there are some changes in the January-March results, but they fall within expected seasonal fluctuations," Ilyichev said.

As reported, trade between China and Russia in January-March this year fell 6.6% compared to the same period in 2024, totaling $53.212 billion, according to Chinese customs statistics.