SHANGHAI, July 31. /TASS/. Chinese businesses’ investment in Yandex’s advertising tools in Russia tripled in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, Managing Director of Yandex Ads for Asia Sergey Ustinov told TASS.

"In the first half of the year, investment by Chinese advertisers more than doubled compared with the same period last year, while Chinese businesses remained the largest advertisers by investment volume in app promotion, with investment increasing threefold," he said.

According to Ustinov, Chinese advertisers are, for the first time, beginning to catch up with the largest players in the Russian market in terms of investment volumes. "Game developers remain the clear leaders, increasing their promotional spending by nearly 150% year over year," he noted.

Yandex Ads is participating in ChinaJoy, Asia’s largest digital entertainment exhibition, for the sixth time. Yandex’s advertising division helps Chinese businesses, particularly those in the video game industry, expand into Russian-speaking markets.

Ustinov added that Chinese partners value Yandex Ads’ expertise in the gaming market. "We hold seminars and webinars, sharing information on how the Russian market works, because very few people in China understand the current state of our industry or how it operates. That is why, at this conference, we are presenting our latest report on the state of Russia’s gaming industry," he said.

Ustinov noted that the company has seen steadily growing interest from Chinese partners and media year after year. "Our existing partners are expanding their cooperation, and investment continues to grow," he said.

The ChinaJoy exhibition is being held in Shanghai from July 31 to August 3. It has brought together 900 companies from around the world, including Russia’s VK, RuStore, Yandex Ads, and the Creative Industries Agency under the Moscow Department of Culture.