China Could Make Life Pretty Difficult For Russia

China
China

China has been taking the easy way out by slowly distancing itself from Russia after the latter was hit with several sanctions on the global scale. The two states have previously proclaimed that their friendship ran too deep- and there were no limits to it. It does seem like that was the case before Russia decided to invade Ukraine. Now with the economy of Russia sliding fast, there seems to be evidence that China’s ability and willingness to aid its neighbor up north is drying up. Although Beijing has refused from condemning the attack on Ukraine, it does want to avoid getting hit with the sanctions too. 

China’s Relations With Russia Under Fire?

Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister, stated that China was never a part of the Ukraine crisis, and definitely doesn’t want to get hit by the sanctions like Russia. This was mentioned in a phone that Yi shared with his Spanish counterpart. Beijing has also decided to provide its full backing that was made on Wednesday to comments made further earlier by China’s ambassador to Ukraine. Fan Xiarong stated that the Asian country would never attack Ukraine, and rather they would help the country out economically. 

With major fears amidst most of the companies in China that they could be facing US Sanctions, it does seem pretty unsurprising that it led to an epic sell-off of Chinese stocks in the last couple of days. The slump was then reserved when Beijing went on to promise that it would be pursuing policies in order to boost its neglecting economy. Further, the government would make sure that the financial markets were completely stable. 

Trade analysts have mentioned that China has been attempting to create a delicate balance between supporting Russia but without antagonizing the West- especially the United States. As it stands, both Moscow and Beijing do share quite a strategic desire in challenging the West. However, the banks in the Asian country wouldn’t be able to afford to lose out to US Dollars.