China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) has revealed that that the trade turnovers between China and Russia in 2018 garnered a record-breaking amount of $107.06 billion.
The numbers translate to the growth of almost 30 percent. RT News reported that the GAC recorded a 12 percent hike in Russian imports of Chinese goods. China's purchases from Russia, on the other hand, blew up by 42.7 percent, which amounts to $59.08 billion.
December came out with great numbers as it recorded a trade record of $9.8 that proves China and Russia are strengthening trade ties.
GAC spokesman Li Kuiwen said China's chief partner in terms of trade growth strategies is Russia. While China sent off electromechanical products to its neighboring country, Russia obtained wood among other goods.
The Ministry of Commerce echoed these reports as it recently revealed that for the first time in history, the China-Russia trade came up with $100 billion. While Russia isn't the number trade partner of China, it is worth noting that Beijing continues to be a key importer of Russian products.
The good news comes amid the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. A tariff truce was agreed upon by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump after the two failed to reach a deal in December. The truce ends in March and Trump has announced that his country will raise tariffs on Chinese goods by up to 25 percent if no deal is reached by then.
Earlier this month, six U.S. cabinet members flew to Beijing in hopes of reaching an amicable settlement about the trade disputes. While the expected results didn't come out of the meeting with the Chinese delegation, both countries agreed to keep in contact.
In a commentary for CNBC, former senior economist for Paris-based OECD and international economist at New York's Federal Reserve Bank, Michael Ivanovitch said the trade war won't escalate. His statements are contrary to fears that are spreading around the world.
Ivanovitch explained that China isn't going through inflation issues. If it was, it wouldn't have produced inflation of 2.1 percent last year. The expert also said Beijing has adequate funds to back up and handle its internal debt.
While Ivanovitch did not make unofficial guesses on his commentary, he mentioned that China won't easily be intimidated by U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that President Xi Jinping didn't initiate the trade war and he didn't want it to happen in the first place.
While China appears to be in good trade terms with Russia and the UAE, it remains to be seen if the country will find peace with the U.S.
