The volume of exports from China to Russia has grown by almost 13 percent, exceeding $35 billion. Imports of Russian goods surged by around 40 percent to $42 billion, said the customs service.

Last month, trade turnover between the two countries was more than $9 billion.

China is Russia’s largest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of Russian international trade in 2017. The two countries expect bilateral trade to hit $100 billion this year and plan to steadily boost it to $200 billion by 2024.

They are also promoting settlements in rubles and yuan, bypassing the US dollar and other Western currencies.

READ MORE: Russia plans to boost trade with China to $200bn by 2024

In 2017, nine percent of payments for supplies from Russia to China were made in rubles; Russian companies paid 15 percent of Chinese imports in renminbi (yuan).

Just three years ago, the numbers were two and nine percent, respectively. The two nations have also established a Russian-Chinese investment fund worth 68 billion yuan (almost $10 billion) to develop trade, economic investment, and scientific cooperation.