On July 20 (Beijing time), according to TASS news agency citing data from the General Department of Customs of China, China's unprocessed aluminum imports from Russia in the first 6 months of 2026 reached 3.76 billion USD, an increase of 24.1% compared to the same period last year.
According to statistics, in the period from January to the end of June 2026, China continued to increase imports of key industrial metals from Russia, of which aluminum is the item with the most significant increase.
China Customs Administration said that the value of unprocessed aluminum imported from Russia reached 3.76 billion USD, while in the same period of 2025 it was only 3.03 billion USD.
This is an increase of 24.1% in value, reflecting the stable demand of the Chinese market for aluminum supply from Russia.
Not only aluminum, but also unprocessed nickel imported from Russia also recorded a strong increase.
In the first 6 months of the year, China imported nickel from Russia with a total value of 693.59 million USD, up 43% compared to the same period last year.
For unprocessed refined copper and copper alloys, import value from Russia reached 2.35 billion USD, an increase of 3.3% compared to the first half of 2025.
Thus, the total import value of 3 metal groups including aluminum, nickel and copper from Russia in the first 6 months of 2026 reached about 6.8 billion USD, an increase of 17.5% compared to the same period last year.
Aluminum, nickel and copper are important materials for many industries such as automobile manufacturing, construction, electronics, energy and mechanical engineering.
Analysts believe that China's stable consumption demand and close trade relations with Russia continue to contribute to maintaining the flow of metal exports between the two countries.
In the context that many economies are still facing supply chain and raw material price fluctuations, China continues to be one of Russia's largest metal import markets.
The latest data from the General Department of Customs of China shows that metal trade between the two countries still maintained growth momentum in the first half of 2026, despite fluctuations in the global commodity market.
