Russians may face delays in parcels from China

In 2025, the celebration of the New Year according to the Eastern calendar will begin on January 29 and will last until February 16. During this entire period, factories and plants in China are not working, warehouses are closed, and even border crossings, including those on the Russian-Chinese border, are suspended. As a result, Russians will be able to receive their orders from Chinese marketplaces with a delay of 3 weeks to a month. This was reported to Izvestia by participants of the logistics market.

"On the eve of the Chinese New Year there is traditionally an increase in demand for deliveries, as many companies seek to receive goods before the holiday," explained Mikhail Koptev, commercial director of the federal transportation company Skif-Cargo.

According to him, the share of China in the total volume of shipments of Russian transportation and logistics companies is from 60 to 80%. Usually deliveries from the PRC make up a significant part of the total volume, especially in the spheres of electronics, textiles and consumer goods. In addition, delays are not related to transportation, but to the fact that many plants and factories are overloaded during this period, often disrupting shipment deadlines. This is the first, but not the only factor. Thus, it is customary to celebrate the New Year in China in the small homeland. Therefore, a period of active internal migration begins before the holiday.

"Chinese partners during the New Year period simply stop correspondence, and it becomes almost impossible to reach them," said Artem Vaskanyan, deputy general director for logistics of 3PL-operator NC Logistic.

According to experts, the delay of previously made orders can range from 3-5 days to 2 weeks.

"All logistics companies, not only Russian ones, face the fact that everything is closed and no one is working during the celebration. According to experience, the average delay is 3 weeks," summarized Maxim Gubanov, co-founder of Xalq Global.

Earlier, on January 21, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that China is at the top of the list of Russia's trade partners. According to him, the leaders of both states paid considerable attention to the issues of trade and economic interaction and expressed satisfaction with its dynamics under the conditions of Western sanctions.