The United States warns Beijing about its ties with Moscow, as Sino-Russian trade relations become one of the Kremlin's few options to ease the effects of Western sanctions

China, the lifeline of the Russian economy?

photo_camera AFP/ALEXEY DRUZHININ - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping

Since Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a "special military operation" on 24 February, the People's Republic of China's position on the international chessboard could not have been more delicate. After Beijing's refusal to impose bilateral sanctions on Russia for the annexation of Crimea in 2014, relations between the two powers have been greatly strengthened. 

On the eve of the conflict, Beijing and Moscow signed major trade and energy deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Thus, on 4 February, just 20 days before the first Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian borders, Putin announced a new oil and gas pact with China worth more than $117 billion, while the two giants signed a joint declaration on International Relations Entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development. 

In the same vein, on 18 February Russia made public another agreement worth nearly $20 billion, this time in relation to the sale of coal; and on 24 February, Beijing announced a lifting of restrictions allowing the purchase of Russian wheat. All these trade moves are part of Beijing's economic strategy to strengthen itself financially by boosting its relations. In fact, trade ties between Russia and China grew by nearly 35% in 2021. "The friendship between the Russian and Chinese peoples is rock-solid," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on 7 March.

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However, the former Soviet republic still represents the eighth largest export market for the Chinese giant, and this complicates Beijing's position on the invasion of Ukraine. 

Western powers such as the US and the EU have consistently condemned Russian action through economic and political sanctions against the Kremlin and leading government figures in Moscow, but China has dodged this path. Neither at multiple UN Security Council meetings nor at the UN General Assembly has Beijing made its condemnation of Moscow public. Nor has it announced the imposition of sanctions - something that other countries such as Israel and Turkey have not done either. "If the US is really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis, it should stop showing the sanctions card," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a press briefing. 

But China, despite setting itself up internationally as an anti-Ottoman and presumably anti-Western country, has studied ambiguity in its discourse on all things Russian in order to safeguard its trade revenues. On the podium of Beijing's main trade links have indisputably been the Western European Union and the United States. 

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Against this backdrop, the US authorities have warned China about its future position vis-à-vis Russia. Thus, during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned Beijing that sanctions against Moscow should "give President Xi a pretty clear idea of what to expect if he does, in fact, support Putin in any way". "We hope that China will learn the right lessons," she said.  

On this tightrope, Beijing's position has attracted attention not only because of its complexity, but also because Xi Jinping appears to be the only leader with the real ability to influence Vladimir Putin. This is something that none of the Western presidents who have walked in procession through the corridors of the Kremlin have been able to do. In fact, although Jinping has officially called for negotiations, international analysts fear that the Chinese leader is helping Moscow in the shadows. 

The purchase of larger quantities of gas and oil, access to its international payment system - similar to the SWIFT code, but less powerful - and the arms trade could be some of the mechanisms through which Beijing could be mitigating the effects of Western sanctions. China is currently the only country that could really alleviate the consequences of the sanctions. 

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However, China actively and passively assures that it is "not part of this crisis", and that its relations with Ukraine continue to be normal. The Asian giant has repeatedly defended international law and Ukraine's territorial integrity, but several analysts have considered that this position is due to its national interests in relation to Hong Kong. 

Contrary to the Hong Kong case, however, China's conflict with Taiwan could justify a radically opposite stance in order to bring the island under its own legal system in the future. Using force in the process if necessary. Washington's stance on the Taiwanese cause has led the US government a few days ago to contemplate imposing new sanctions against Beijing if it attacks Taiwan's sovereignty. 

"We have already shown that we can. In the case of Russia, we threatened significant consequences and we have imposed significant consequences. You should not doubt our ability or resolve to do the same in other situations," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said, as relations with Beijing escalate. China has condemned a deal worth more than $95 million to support the Patriot anti-aircraft system, warning Washington that the pact "severely damages US-Sino relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait"

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra

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