BEIJING China's imports from Russia dropped in July, the first monthly decline since February 2021 when imports of oil and other goods began steadily rising after the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine, Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday.

China's imports from Russia shrank 8% to $9.2 billion last month from a year earlier, in contrast to 15.7% growth in June, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the General Administration of Customs. China has been buying discounted Russian oil, coal, and certain metals.

China's overall imports contracted 12.4% last month on softened domestic demand, missing by a large margin analysts' expectation of a 5.0% drop.

Exports to Russia expanded 52% in July to $10.28 billion, much slower than the 90.9% growth registered in June.

While China's exports to Russia held up relatively well compared with subdued demand elsewhere, they were a small portion of overall exports, at only 3% in January-July.

The value of bilateral trade between the two dropped to $19.49 billion in July from June's $20.83 billion, which was the highest since the Ukraine war began.

The Chinese customs agency did not release data giving a breakdown of imports by both country and product.

As the Ukraine war drags on, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation on Monday that China would uphold an independent and impartial position on Ukraine as it strives to find a political settlement to the issue.

(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Edmund Klamann)