Supplies of advanced tech to Moscow, desperate to sidestep US and EU sanctions, fell this year but China, Hong Kong remain important transshipment hubs

Earlier this week a top US official called on European and NATO countries to send a collective message of concern to China

China already has ambitious plans for long-term lunar habitation, starting with plans to land its first taikonauts on the Moon to using 3D printing technology to construct buildings on its surface

Yuan trading accounted for more than 40% of all foreign currency changing hands on the Moscow Exchange in 2023, triple the year before

Together China and India accounted for around 90% of Russia’s crude exports, while Europe's share fell to only about 4-5% from about 40-45%

For November alone, bilateral trade between the two nations rose to $21.5 billion, the highest since February 2022 when the Ukraine war began

The value of bilateral trade between Russia and China surged to $21.18bn last month, its highest since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022

Analysts say BRI’s shift from investment intensive projects like dams to high-tech ones comes amid Xi's push to export Chinese ideas about governance

The US State Department says price caps on Russian oil lets buyers, like China, "drive a harder bargain" in their purchases

The Commerce Department says the listed entities supplied US-origin integrated circuits to Moscow’s military

Putin has sent an emissary — Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — instead, and Kremlin said he would “still play a key role in the main summit meeting”

China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022