In April, Chinese companies bought $ 8.9bn worth of goods from Russia, which is almost 57% more than in the same month last year.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
The growth was despite the fact, that total Chinese imports from around the world remained unchanged. Most of China's imports from Russia are energy and raw materials.
At the same time, in April, Chinese companies sold goods to Russia for $ 3.8bn, which is slightly less than in March, according to official data on Monday. This is 7.7% less than a year earlier, and was the lowest figure since March 2020, when world trade was heavily affected by the initial outbreak of Covid-19.
Major Chinese exports to Russia include smartphones and components for microprocessors and computers.
The Chinese payment system UnionPay will not work with Russian banks that have come under sanctions
During the two months of full-scale invasion of Ukraine, high-ranking US officials did not show open military or economic support for Russia from China.