Mounting war-time trade between Moscow and Beijing expands in the Arctic
Bilateral trade, which has increased by more than 30% in 2026, necessitates the opening of new logistical routes across the Arctic, say Chinese and Russian government representatives.
"Russia is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as the construction of the ‘Trans-Arctic International Transport Corridor’ and multilateral maritime governance," a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry reads.
The statement comes after Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, met with Russia’s Nikolai Patrushev in Beijing on 12 October.
Patrushev, a former director of the FSB who currently serves as aide to Vladimir Putin and chairman of the Maritime Committee, was on a four-day visit to Beijing. He was accompanied by a delegation of several representatives from the government and government agencies.
Among the agencies represented was the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, which is involved in a training programme on sailing in polar waters for Chinese seafarers.
The meetings took place as trade between the two countries is growing rapidly. According to TASS, a Russian state propaganda agency, bilateral trade increased by $98 billion to $214.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026.
That year-on-year increase amounts to 30.6%. The figures are based on Chinese customs data, TASS reported.
It is likely that a significant share of the growing trade is linked to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. It is an indisputable fact that Russia would not be able to wage the war without Chinese assistance.
"China’s construction of the ‘Ice Silk Road’ and Russia’s advancement of Arctic shipping routes coincide, and cooperation on maritime affairs is increasingly important within the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia," the Chinese Foreign Ministry reported.
Shipments on the Northern Sea Route have increased significantly in 2026, and a major part of the cargo is Russian oil and gas en route to Chinese ports.
In the first eight months of 2026, at least 12 tankers sailed across the Northern Sea Route with more than ten million barrels of oil for Chinese buyers.
The Russian natural gas company Novatek and its partners are expanding their fleet of LNG carriers for Arctic operations. They have at their disposal a fleet of at least 18 tankers for the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project alone, and most of the shipments go to China.
Several Chinese container carriers and specialised ships are also operating in the Russian Arctic, among them the heavy lift carriers Bright (IMO 9830769), Glory (IMO 9934498), and Ya Qing Hai Yang (IMO 1021570).
The Arctic has been on the bilateral Chinese-Russian agenda for several years.When Xi visited Putin in Moscow in March 2023, the sides decided to establish a joint working group on the Northern Sea Route. When Putin visited Beijing a few months later in October 2023, infrastructure and logistics were again on the agenda.
In October 2024, the two countries' foreign ministries agreed to step up bilateral talks on the Arctic. In December the same year, top officials from Beijing and Moscow sat down for their first meeting in a joint cooperation body for the Northern Sea Route.
