“We are paying close attention to the political and economic situation in Russia,” said Liu, co-founder of Xinflying Digital Printing Production, after seeing the firm’s overall export sales surpass 100 million yuan (US$13.85 million) last year.

“Many Russian customers have come to consult and placed new orders, and we expect orders from Russia will increase by two to three times from last year if there’s no internal disruption,” he said.

China’s use of Russian port to ship goods is ‘symbolic’, but hurdles remain

As Western countries have intensified sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine since February last year, Liu is among the Chinese manufacturers looking to capitalise on what he and industry insiders see as their “best chance” to expand and secure a lucrative foothold in their northern neighbour by filling the void left by Western brands, according to business insiders.

However, some businessmen expressed caution after private militia the Wagner Group advanced to within a few hundred miles of Moscow before reaching a deal to end the uprising.

“At present, we have very little information [on our Russian clients’ response to the Wagner Group incident], so we can only observe,” said Rick Wang, sales manager for a down-jacket manufacturer in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

“If Russian customers are pessimistic about their domestic affairs and economy, orders will drop significantly. But we need to wait until late July and August to see how many new orders they will place.

“In general, the information I got from our Russian customers is not very optimistic. Some have moved their factories to Turkey because of Western brands shunning their country.”

02:25

Xi Jinping in Moscow to discuss Chinese peace plan for Ukraine with Russia’s Vladimir Putin

Xi Jinping in Moscow to discuss Chinese peace plan for Ukraine with Russia’s Vladimir Putin

William Liu, the marketing manager for a Guangdong-based medical device exporter, expects demand from Russia to be resilient despite domestic uncertainties.

“Even if the situation worsens, Russia’s demand for China’s industrial necessities and medical devices will not decrease,” William Liu said.

He said that, for small Chinese exporters, Russia has been an increasingly important market, and “they are doing quite well”.

What is the trade, investment relationship between China and Russia?

“We hope to capture more of the market share with European and American brands having more or less left Russia,” William Liu added.

Brussels announced the 11th round of sanctions on Russia last week, expanding the list to cover nearly 2,000 individuals and entities. Washington also imposed additional sanctions and export controls in May.

China has not joined the sanctions, but it has exerted caution in its trade with Russia to avoid secondary sanctions.

Alice Lin, an exporter of clothes and household items, is also optimistic about the business outlook in the Russian market amid warm ties between Beijing and Moscow.

Lin said the logistics and supply chain between the two countries will remain largely intact despite domestic turmoil in Russia.

“As long as there is no war in Russia, for Chinese sellers there is opportunity in Russia,” she said.

Chinese businesspeople also appear to be flocking to Russian e-commerce platforms.

Ozon, Russia’s answer to Amazon, said Chinese sellers’ turnover and orders on the site increased five and six times, respectively, in 2022 from the previous year.