New data from Russia’s Federal Customs Service (FCS) shows that the volume of cargo traffic between Russia and China traveling through road checkpoints in the Far East has been significantly increased since the beginning of 2023.

The agency reported that road-based freight traffic increased about 1.5 times over the course of the year so far compared to the same period in 2022. Since January 1st, over 75,000 vehicles passed through checkpoints at the Russian-Chinese border.

The agency noted that due to the increased traffic, it had temporarily extended checkpoint working hours and hired additional staff.

In addition, seaborne oil exports from Russia to China have also been increasing, reaching record highs due to refineries in China taking advantage of heavily discounted Russian crude prices amid economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western powers.

The new report reinforces a January report by Russian Railways (RZD) which revealed that China-bound rail cargo traffic, as well as traffic destined for other nations in the Asian-Pacific region had increased by more than 80% compared to the same time a year prior.

In 2022, China-Russia trade reached a record high, increasing by almost a third amid Ukraine-related sanctions on the Kremlin. In the first quarter of 2023 it has continued to grow, as both exports and imports have surged by a double-digit pace, according to data from the General Administration of China that was published earlier this week. Overall, data shows that bilateral trade increased by over 43% in the period from January to April compared to the same period in the previous year, to $73 billion