Russia sharply increases gold sales to China — intelligence
In 2025, Russia significantly ramped up its gold exports to China, apparently in an urgent attempt to secure foreign currency under pressure from sanctions and budgetary needs.
This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZRU).
According to their data, Russia delivered 25.3 tonnes of gold to China over the year — nine times more than in 2024.
In monetary terms, the value of transactions rose to USD 3.29 billion, compared with USD 223 million the previous year, indicating an unusually large scale of sales.
The intelligence service notes that deliveries were irregular and appeared “situational.” The largest shipments occurred in two periods: February–March and October–December, which may reflect responses to cash shortfalls throughout the year.
The peak occurred in December, when Russia shipped around 10 tonnes of gold worth USD 1.35 billion. This accounted for more than 40% of the total annual volume, suggesting an end-of-year push to quickly “plug gaps” in finances.
SZRU emphasises that exports were mostly in the form of bullion — the form best suited for rapid monetisation of assets.
At the same time, the sharp increase in sales coincided with a reduction in domestic gold reserves. As of 1 January 2026, the Russian National Wealth Fund held 160.2 tonnes in accounts at the central bank.
By comparison, in May 2022, this figure was 554.9 tonnes, indicating a long-term depletion of reserves.
It is recalled that Chinese microchips have allowed Russia to improve its combat drones. China also supplies equipment to Russia for the production of the hypersonic “Oreshnik” missiles.
