From sanctioned cars to beauty clinics, Russian rubles have flowed into China's border towns since Ukraine war

"Wang Runguo is hustling. Darting across the gleaming floors of his cavernous car showroom, the 45-year-old from one of China's poorest provinces is closing on yet another deal. It is all in a day's work for the man whose salary has more than doubled in the past year thanks to a well-timed pivot: from corn to cars; from China to Russia. This time last year Wang was working for an agricultural company that grew corn and soya beans for the domestic market. Now he is a manager at Xingyun International Automobile Export, a company founded in August 2025 to cater to the booming new car export industry in Suifenhe, a small city in China's north-east that borders Russia."

"Recently, China and Russia have been moving closer together, Wang says. As we move closer, more and more cars are going there. A manager at Suifenhe Hengchi International Trade, one of the city's biggest car dealerships, puts it more bluntly: The Russia-Ukraine war has been a good opportunity for our business. As Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, visits China on Tuesday, Moscow may be hoping that Beijing continues to see the benefits of a cosy relationship. Map showing location of Suifenhe And on China's border with Russia, where the US is a distant concept but where Russians spend their money, local businesspeople say they are unconcerned by western sanctions."

"China rejects western sanctions and says that they do not comply with international law. Earlier this month the Chinese embassy in the UK lodged stern representations with London over sanctions that were applied to Chinese companies accused of supplying drones and military goods to Russia. A Chinese government spokesperson said: Normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises should not be interfered with by sanctions. Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, weeks after Xi Jinping and Putin had declared a"

Wang Runguo works in a car showroom in Suifenhe, a border city in north-east China, and has increased his salary after pivoting from growing corn and soya beans to managing an automobile export business. Xingyun International Automobile Export was founded in August 2025 to serve the rapidly expanding car export industry. Local dealers say the Russia-Ukraine war has created business opportunities because Russian buyers spend money in the region. Businesspeople report little concern about western sanctions, and China rejects sanctions as non-compliant with international law. Chinese officials state that normal cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises should not be disrupted by sanctions.

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