Chinese smartphones made up more than 70 per cent of the Russian market in the first quarter of 2023, consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado said, up from around 50 per cent last year.
Moscow is becoming more dependent on Beijing, having sharply raised its use of the yuan, increased energy supplies to China and started selling more Chinese-branded cars as Western automakers leave Russia. "Demand for brands from China in quantity terms increased by 42 per cent relative to last year, and their total share was over 70 per cent," M.Video added in a statement on Monday.
The Kremlin has also moved to allow Russian companies to ship in some products, including smartphones, without the license holder's permission in so-called parallel imports.