China Accounts for Almost Half of Ukraine’s Total Trade Deficit

Beijingwalker · Monday at 4:49 AM

China Accounts for Almost Half of Ukraine’s Total Trade Deficit.

Monday, July 13, 2026

China remains Ukraine’s largest source of trade imbalance, accounting for almost half of the country’s total trade deficit. According to the State Customs Service, Ukraine’s total trade turnover with all countries reached about $58.1 billion in the first five months of 2026. Imports totaled $40.5 billion, while exports amounted to $17.6 billion.

Ukraine’s 10 largest trading partners accounted for about $36.1 billion of total trade turnover.

China ranked first by trade volume. In January-May, Ukraine’s trade turnover with China reached $11.75 billion, including $11.09 billion in imports and only $663.8 million in exports. China now accounts for more than 25% of Ukraine’s total imports, while Ukrainian exports to the country remain limited.

As a result, trade with China alone accounts for almost half of Ukraine’s overall trade deficit.

Poland ranked second, with bilateral trade turnover of $5.85 billion. Ukraine imported $3.88 billion worth of goods from Poland and exported $1.97 billion to the country. Turkey ranked third, with trade turnover of $4.21 billion, including $2.66 billion in imports and $1.55 billion in exports.

The top 10 also included Germany at $3.68 billion, the US at $2.49 billion, Italy at $2.17 billion, Hungary at $1.62 billion, the Czech Republic at $1.45 billion, the Netherlands at $1.45 billion and Slovakia at $1.42 billion.

The data show that the European Union remains Ukraine’s key space for trade, logistics and exports, while China continues to dominate as the country’s largest supplier of imported goods.

Ukraine’s main challenge is not only to expand exports, but also to reduce trade asymmetry with its largest partners by increasing sales of higher-value products.

sunny405 · 2026-07-14T13:54:13+0100

There's no way around it; in fact, most of Ukraine's drone components now come from China, as do a large portion of its consumer goods and machinery products.

wangdefa · 2026-07-14T16:23:58+0100

sunny405 said:
There's no way around it; in fact, most of Ukraine's drone components now come from China, as do a large portion of its consumer goods and machinery products.

Although the outcome is the same, the purchaser does not know which third country it is. For ordinary people, you cannot determine where a white person is from, and he can simply fabricate a nationality.
As far as I know, a group of Poles are acting as agents for Ukraine's procurement, transferring goods from their country to Ukraine.Goods transported to Europe via the China-Europe Railway Express were detained in Russia, as reported in the news last year.

Beijingwalker · 2026-07-15T11:38:01+0100

Ukraine to buy Chinese drone parts with EU loans

Wed, July 15, 2026 - 13:27

The EU has made an exception to the rules on defense funding

Photo: Ukraine will be able to purchase Chinese drone components using EU loan funds (Getty Images)

Ukraine has been granted permission to use part of the defense loan from the European Union to purchase Chinese components for drones, Financial Times reports.

According to the agency’s sources, Ukraine has been granted the right to use part of the first tranche of the EU defense loan, amounting to approximately 6 billion euros, to purchase Chinese-made components.

These funds are part of a large-scale EU program that allocates 60 billion euros for defense procurement for Ukraine.

In general, the program’s rules stipulate that products purchased with European funds must originate primarily from EU countries, Ukraine, or other approved partners.

However, the regulations include an exception: if the necessary goods cannot be obtained quickly in sufficient quantities, Ukraine may apply to Brussels for special permission to purchase them from other countries. Kyiv has taken advantage of precisely this mechanism.

As the FT notes, the decision demonstrates that the European defense industry is not yet able to fully supply the necessary components for drone production.

Despite actively ramping up arms production, certain critically important components still have to be purchased from China.

At the same time, this decision is controversial, as the EU has repeatedly accused Beijing of supporting the Russian military-industrial complex through the supply of dual-use products. Nevertheless, Chinese components remain vital for Ukrainian drone production as well.

Dependence on Chinese components

China remains a key player in global supply chains, and for the Ukrainian defense industry in particular.

At the same time, a gradual geographical shift has also been observed in recent years. A portion of procurement is shifting to the European Union, the United States, Taiwan, and South Korea.

In addition, Ukraine’s production of components for the defense industry is growing. At the same time, the most advanced technologies remain dependent on imports for now.

According to rough estimates, last year alone, the share of Chinese components in Ukrainian drones fell to approximately 38%.

However, industry experts note that the situation varies significantly depending on the specific product and company. Some Ukrainian manufacturers have already achieved a localization rate of up to 90%, while certain products still rely heavily on supplies from abroad.

China Accounts for Almost Half of Ukraine’s Total Trade Deficit

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