Russia's pivot eastward brings shared gains for China and Russia

Editor's note: The article was written by He Jingyi, a CGTN business reporter. It reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Three centuries ago, Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg as Russia's "window to the West." Today, the city's annual economic forum has quietly shifted its gaze eastward, reflecting Russia's broader strategic and economic pivot toward Asia and a multipolar world.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that "the center of world development today is shifting to Asia, there is no doubt about it," calling on Russia to move closer to the region.

What began as a response to the 2014 Crimea crisis has since matured into a structural pivot – now reflected in trade flows, institutional frameworks, and the evolving language of partnership between Moscow and Beijing.

China at the core of economic diversification

This reorientation has brought China to the center of Russia's economic diversification. "China is Russia's leading trade partner," Putin made the statements following China-Russia talks in May. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhanced cooperation in sectors ranging from energy and agriculture to high-tech products and cross-border finance.

Speaking on the sidelines of SPIEF, Zhang Hanhui, China's ambassador to Russia, emphasized the depth of current economic ties: "The trade and economic cooperation is the biggest driving force behind the stable development of relationship between our two countries ... characterized by stability and complementarity."

Trade at record highs, and in local currencies

The resilience is also measurable. According to China's General Administration of Customs, the value of China's imports and exports with Russia reached 1.74 trillion yuan ($237 billion) in 2024, a record high, as the two countries' leaders hailed bilateral relations.

Notably, over 95 percent of this trade was settled in local currencies, the yuan and the ruble, rather than the US dollar. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk attributed this de-dollarization trend to both sanctions-driven necessity and strengthened financial coordination between the two nations, Xinhua reported.

China's growing role in Russian consumer and technology markets

China's presence is also increasingly visible in Russian streets and shops. The market share of China's auto manufacturers in Russia has surged to 45 percent over the past three years, replacing Western carmakers that have exited the market, according to a report released by Russia's Pivot to Asia.  

"Trade between China and Russia is no longer based solely on traditional forms, but increasingly on modern exchanges of technology and expertise," Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the management board of PJSC Sberbank, told CGTN during the SPIEF. "We are seeing expansion into high-value-added sectors like AI, EVs, digital logistics, and green infrastructure."

Strategic coordination: Infrastructure beyond borders

The realignment is not just economic, it's also geographic.

A growing mesh of rail, port, and digital infrastructure now ties the Russian far east with northeast China, often under the umbrella of dual frameworks: China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union.

These are not just symbolic projects. They're changing the economic map of Eurasia through logistics hubs, bonded zones, and joint ventures in everything from soybeans to semiconductors.

Australian-based Russian scholar Alexander Korolev, of the University of New South Wales, wrote in an article under the headline "How closely aligned are China and Russia? Measuring strategic cooperation in IR" that China and Russia have built strong and steadily deepening strategic cooperation, especially in militaries, economic ties, and diplomacy — though their relationship remains below a fully fledged alliance.

This isn't a formal alliance with ideological baggage. It's interest-based, adaptive cooperation, and arguably more durable than any treaty, according to Korolev.

A new model of international economic integration

As the world grapples with fragmentation and rising protectionism, many Global South countries are looking for templates of sustainable cooperation. In this context, the China-Russia partnership offers a rare example of long-term stability and predictable engagement.

In the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the relationship is based on "long-lasting good-neighborliness and mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation."

What began as a tactical pivot is crystallizing into a long-term economic orientation. The message from St. Petersburg this year is clear: Russia's window to the West is now a gateway to the East.