Russia and China boost road-based freight traffic

Russia and China have significantly increased the volume of cargo traffic through road checkpoints in the Far East since the beginning of 2023, data provided by Russia’s Federal Customs Service (FCS) shows.

According to the agency, road-based freight traffic jumped roughly 1.5 times so far this year compared to the same period in 2022, with more than 75,000 vehicles passing through road checkpoints at the Russian-Chinese border since January 1.

The agency said that in order to deal with the increased traffic, it has had to hire additional staff and temporarily extend checkpoint working hours.

Russia’s seaborne oil exports to China have also been on the rise, climbing to record highs as Chinese refiners take advantage of discounts offered by Moscow amid Western sanctions on energy exports.

In January, Russian Railways (RZD) also revealed that rail cargo traffic destined for China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region jumped by more than 80% compared to the same time in 2022.

Trade between China and Russia hit a record high in 2022, soaring by nearly a third amid Ukraine-related Western sanctions on Moscow. It has continued to grow in the first quarter of 2023, with both exports and imports surging at double-digit pace, according to data from the General Administration of China released earlier this week. Overall, data shows that bilateral trade rose more than 43% in January-April compared to the same period in 2022, to $73 billion.

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