Russian base metals sales to China surged in the first five months of 2025, underscoring its economic dependence on its Asian neighbor even as the country seeks to diversify trade. 

Russian aluminum sales to China through May jumped by almost 56% year-on-year to nearly 1 million tons, copper sales advanced 66%, while nickel imports more than doubled, according to Trade Data Monitor, which sources information from China’s customs office.

China has emerged as a key partner for Moscow, with over $240 billion worth of trade last year, replacing Europe, after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, resulting in international sanctions and trade restrictions. 

Russia is a major producer of aluminum, copper, and nickel. Although its two top producers — MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC and United Co. Rusal International PJSC — are not sanctioned by the US and its allies, new Russian metal supplies can no longer be delivered to the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are subject to some trade restrictions.

Earlier this year, the European Union approved a gradual ban on aluminum imports. The bloc has set a 275,000-ton import quota, that will run through Feb. 2026.

For Rusal, the surge in sales to China this year reflects the clearance of stockpiles built up due to rail bottlenecks on the Russian side, according to a person familiar with the matter. Full-year shipments are still expected to total about 1.5 million tons, the person said. 

Read: Russia’s Wartime Economic Woes Slow Railway Trade With China

Norilsk Nickel began ramping up sales to China in the second half of 2024, according to people familiar with the matter. The Russian miner is working with a unit of Shandong Gold to boost copper cathode shipments to the country, they said. 

Aside from Norilsk Nickel, Russian Copper Co. and UMCC, both sanctioned, may also still ship to China. Not all the volumes reflected in the customs data represent direct sales by Russian copper and nickel producers, as some appear to be trader-led transactions involving previously produced metal, one of the people said.

Glencore Plc has been buying Russian copper on the LME with the aim of delivering it into China as a response to supply squeeze in the world’s largest copper consumer, Bloomberg reported earlier.

The press services of Norilsk Nickel and Rusal didn’t comment and a request for comment to Shandong Gold wasn’t immediately answered outside of normal working hours.

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