Before the war, Russia’s trade with the European Union was double that with China; now it’s less than half. The Chinese yuan, not the dollar or the euro, is now the main currency used in trade between the two countries, making it the main currency used for trade between the two countries. most traded currency on the Moscow Stock Exchange and an essential savings instrument.
This economic dependence seeps into daily life. Chinese products are omnipresent and more than half of the million cars sold in Russia last year were made in China. Tellingly, the six biggest foreign auto brands in Russia are now all Chinese, thanks to the exodus of once-dominant Western companies. It’s a similar story in the smartphone market, where the Chinese Xiaomi and Tecno have eclipse Apple and Samsung, as well as household appliances and many other everyday items.
These changes are tectonic. Even in Tsarist times, Russia shipped its goods to Europe and depended on imports of manufactured goods from the West. Russian oligarchs, blacklisted by most Western countries, have had to adapt to the new reality. Last month, businessman Vladimir Potanin, whose fortune is estimated at $23.7 billion, announcement that its copper and nickel empire would reorient itself towards China, notably by moving its production facilities to the country. “If we are more integrated into the Chinese economy,” he said, “we will be more protected.”
From the economy comes education. Members of the Russian elite are scrambling to find Mandarin tutors for their children, and some of my Russian contacts are considering sending their children to universities in Hong Kong or mainland China, now that Western universities are much more difficult to access. This development is more than anecdotal. Last year, as China opened up after the pandemic, 12,000 Russian students went to study there, almost four times as many as in the United States.
This reorientation from West to East is also visible within the middle class, particularly in travel. For example, there are now five flights a day connecting Moscow and Beijing in less than eight hours, with a round-trip ticket costing around $500. In contrast, traveling to Berlin – one of several frequent European weekend destinations for middle-class Russians before the war – can now take a full day and cost up to twice as much.
