How important are Russia's external economic links?

In this note, we review recent data concerning Russia’s economic integration with other countries. We first analyze the general picture of Russia’s economic integration with the rest of the world and the importance of foreign economic relations for the country. We then turn to China, an increasingly significant economic partner for Russia. The European Union remains Russia’s most important trading partner and is by far the most important source of foreign direct investment to Russia as well as sources of other financing. China’s importance to Russia has also increased, especially with respect to merchandise trade.

Sisällysluettelo

1. Introduction..... 4
2. Russia’s foreign trade and cross-border financial flows..... 4
2.1 Russia’s exports ..... 4
2.2 Russia’s imports..... 6
2.3 Foreign financial flows to Russia...... 8
2.4 Russian financial flows abroad ..... 9
2.5 Foreign liabilities and assets of the Russian banking sector..... 10
3. Russia’s economic relations with China ..... 11
3.1 Asymmetrical trade relations..... 11
3.2 China’s importance in Russian finance has increased only moderately since 2013.... 12
3.3 Use of national currencies in bilateral trade has increased ..... 14
4. Concluding remarks..... 14

Julkaisuhuomautus

Published in Asian Economic Papers online https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00848