China Is Pragmatic About Investing in russia

Despite loud political statements from moscow and Beijing about “boundless friendship”, actual investment figures tell a different story. The total amount of accumulated Chinese investment in russia since 2022 has not grown and remains at around $17.4 billion.

In 2022, there was a jump in investment – by almost 20% compared to 2021. This was partly a result of the inertia of previously made decisions and partly a result of the “substitution effect” after Western investors had left russia’s market. However, by 2025, the momentum had virtually disappeared.

The only sector that showed significant relative growth (+50%) was that of financial services. While Chinese banks in russia played a supporting role in 2022, by 2025 the expansion of their presence had become a tool for supporting bilateral trade. At the same time, capital is not being directed into new production capacities, but mainly into the creation and maintenance of payment and settlement channels.

On the other hand, investments in the raw materials sector, which is traditionally attractive to China, have even declined slightly, from $9 billion to $8.8 billion.

Chinese investors are acting as pragmatically as possible, entering russia’s economy only to the extent that they consider safe in view of the sanctions risks, or avoiding investments altogether.