Russia is preparing a package of measures to arrest a slide in trade with China as President Vladimir Putin readies for a four-day visit that will include a summit with President Xi Jinping and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization gathering in Tianjin on 31 August–1 September, according to officials involved in the planning. Bilateral trade, a critical economic lifeline for Moscow after Western sanctions, reached a record $245 billion in 2024 but fell 8.1 percent in the first seven months of 2025, Chinese customs data show. The drop reflects weaker Russian oil exports to China and a sharp contraction in Chinese sales of cars, smartphones and computers to Russia. Russian sources say agriculture and energy projects—most notably the stalled Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline—will top the agenda, alongside efforts to boost exports of aluminium, copper and nickel and to open the Chinese market to Russian wheat. Moscow views maintaining robust commerce with the world’s second-largest economy as essential both for state revenues and for access to technology used by its defense sector.