Russia’s effort to boost trade with China is still very much ongoing, and that is reflected in rail freight figures. The two countries grew the rail freight volume between one another by 9 per cent last year.
“The company [Russian Railways] managed to achieve significant results in 2024 in transportation with China. The total volume exceeded 175 million tonnes of cargo, which is 9 per cent higher than the 2023 level,” transport minister Roman Starovoit said, according to Russian media.
The development is not entirely surprising, considering that Russia has been working to redirect its earlier trade with the West to China. For that reason, it is also investing significant amounts of money in Far East rail infrastructure, to accommodate the growing freight flows in the region.