How a Chinese Border Town Keeps Russia's Economy Afloat
As is visible in Manzhouli, China's main border crossing with Russia, the two countries' economies are increasingly intertwined. China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil, timber and coal, and it will soon be the biggest buyer of Russian natural gas. Trade between the two countries exceeded $240 billion last year, up two-thirds since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. China has supplied many of the drones and drone components used by Russia in the conflict.
China's staunch support for Russia's economy has helped Moscow survive: Dozens of countries have barred Russia from much of the global financial system, upending its economy at home.
China has had the opposite reaction to Russia's war on Ukraine.
'China-Russia relations represent the most stable, mature and strategically significant major-country relationship in the world today,' Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, said this month after meeting Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia.
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