Due to anti-Russian sanctions, the country’s trade with Russia exceeded $200 billion this year, much earlier than the two countries had planned.

Chinese car manufacturers benefited the most. Sales to Russia helped China overtake Japan as the world’s largest car exporter this year. Chinese automakers have captured 55% of the Russian market. In pre-war 2021 they had 8%.

Russia, in turn, sold China not only oil and gas, but also products - chocolates, sausages and other consumer goods, which began to appear in abundance in Chinese supermarkets.

“Cheap Russian energy, bypassing sanctions imposed by the West, has helped Chinese factories compete in global markets while their rival manufacturers in other countries, especially Germany, faced sharply higher energy costs,” the newspaper writes.

Russia’s actions in Ukraine also received media support from China.

“State media constantly spread Russian propaganda in China and around the world. Russia is so popular in China that social media influencers flock to Harbin, the capital of China’s northernmost eastern province, Heilongjiang, to pose in Russian clothing in front of a former Russian cathedral.” , says the article.