On August 31, according to US media reports, Chinese goods such as cars, TVs and smartphones are replacing German and South Korean products as the Russian market recovers and reshapes from Western sanctions.
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russia has tried to turn to goods from "friendly" countries that have not followed Western sanctions against Russia, thereby minimizing the damage to its economy. Separately, the Russian government has blocked domestic purchases of euros and dollars through fines and has allowed Russia’s sovereign wealth fund to invest in the currencies of China, India and Turkey.
The US media interviewed a Russian entrepreneur who did not want to give his last name. He said: "There is nothing on the market except Chinese cars", but "there are still many choices, and surprisingly, these cars are very good." The Russian entrepreneur bought a new Tiggo SUV made by China's Chery Automobile Company.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict and Western sanctions have accelerated the decoupling process between Russia and the West, and also accelerated Russia's "falling back" to Asia. Everything from banking and energy sales to general commodities has changed in all aspects of the Russian economy.
And while the Russian auto import market has yet to recover from the blow from the sanctions, Russian auto imports fell 75% year-on-year in July. However, last quarter, 81 percent of Russia's new car imports came from China, compared with just 28 percent in the first quarter, according to Avtostat.
The Bank of Russia also said in a report on August 24 that business sentiment in the auto trade sector turned positive for the first time since February as the market gradually shifted from Europe to Asia.
In addition, in the field of smartphones, according to data from Mobile TeleSystems, Russia's largest mobile operator, in the second quarter, China's Xiaomi mobile phone was the most popular product in the Russian market, surpassing Samsung, which had been in the first place for a long time. Among the top five brands, three are Chinese brands.
According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, citing data from Russian online retailers, demand for Chinese-made TVs in the Russian market has doubled because Japanese and South Korean companies have stopped shipping to Russia.
Although many Western brands' products can still enter the Russian market through gray channels, they are more expensive and have no warranty, further boosting the competitiveness of Chinese goods.
On August 17, according to Russian estimates, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia this year will reach 190 billion US dollars, an increase of more than one-third year-on-year.
