Customs data shows a sharp rise in gold imports in late 2025 as Beijing accelerates efforts to reduce reliance on the dollar.
China sharply increased its purchases of Russian gold toward the end of 2025, setting a new monthly record as Beijing continued efforts to reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar. According to figures cited by RIA Novosti from Chinese customs data, shipments of Russian gold to China approached $1 billion in November, marking the highest level ever recorded in a single month.
Gold imports from Russia were valued at $961 million in November, up from $930 million in October, highlighting a rapid acceleration in trade. The surge comes as Russia seeks alternative markets for its precious metals following sweeping Western sanctions, while China has emerged as a key buyer amid its broader strategy to diversify foreign reserves and trade flows.
The recent figures stand in stark contrast to earlier years. Russia did not export gold to China in October or November the previous year, and its former annual peak in shipments was just $223 million. Over the first eleven months of 2025, Chinese imports of Russian gold totaled approximately $1.9 billion, nearly nine times higher than during the same period a year earlier. Overall Russian precious-metal exports to China also doubled year-on-year, customs data showed.
Analysts suggest the real volume of gold flowing from Russia to China may be significantly larger than official statistics indicate. Estimates from Bloomberg place Russia’s total precious-metal exports to China at around $1 billion in the first half of 2025 alone, without specifying how much consisted of gold. The Financial Times has also reported that China’s unreported gold purchases could exceed official figures many times over, reflecting discreet reserve diversification.
The growing gold trade underscores the deepening economic partnership between Moscow and Beijing since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Trade turnover between the two countries has surpassed $200 billion for a third consecutive year, with most transactions now conducted in rubles and yuan rather than Western currencies. As sanctions reshape global commodity flows, gold has become a key pillar of the evolving Russia-China economic relationship.