Experts believe it will be difficult for Xi to avoid being as powerless as Russia under Western sanctions. Photo: Dazhi Image Associated Press/China Government Network (New Head and Shell Synthesis)
After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in early February, Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared that the Sino-Russian friendship has no upper limit. However, during the more than three months of Russia’s aggression once morest Ukraine, not only did it repeatedly bomb houses, massacre civilians, but also committed many sexual assaults Violent acts of rape have resulted in repeated sanctions by the international community. So far, China, which has refused to condemn Russia, is worried regarding being subject to secondary sanctions by Europe and the United States. He is willing to fulfill his promise and twice pressured China to provide support in trade, technology, finance and other aspects, which caused Xi Jinping to be in a dilemma. Chinese officials admitted that the relationship between China and Russia has become tense.
According to the Washington Post, Russian officials have made increasing requests to China in recent weeks for more support, calling on China to honor the “unrestricted” partnership it established weeks before the Ukraine-Russia war The report, citing Chinese officials, said the Chinese leadership wanted to expand aid to Russia and limit what it would do without violating Western sanctions. Mr. Xi, who has tasked his cronies to figure out a way to provide Russian financial support without violating sanctions, has run into difficulties.
The report mentioned that a Chinese official, who asked not to be named, said Moscow had pressured Beijing at least twice for new forms of economic support, which he considered “nervous”; another official said , Russia’s requested program of economic support, including maintaining “trade commitments” ahead of the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, as well as financial and technical support now approved by the United States and other countries. Russia has not asked for weapons and ammunition to support the war, but the official declined to comment on whether Russia has asked for other items that might be used for military operations, including technology and materiel.
A Chinese person familiar with the matter stressed that China has taken a position on the situation in Ukraine and illegal sanctions once morest Russia. China understands Moscow’s plight “but we cannot ignore our own situation in this dialogue, and China will always act in the best interests of the Chinese people”. China is reluctant to help Russia evade sanctions, fearing that the United States and its allies might cut off key Chinese technology, including semiconductors and aerospace equipment, as well as take over China’s financial system. Beijing has made clear to Moscow that ending the war will give China more leeway to fight international sanctions and prevent foreign companies in Russia from fleeing.
The report continued that China’s strategic partner Russia has entered its fourth month of a war that Beijing did not expect. While Xi “has tasked his closest advisers with figuring out ways to help Russia financially without violating sanctions,” a senior U.S. official bluntly said that was still not enough for Russia. Instead of compromising economically with Russia, China should be openly neutral, many of which “are contradictory. It is difficult to satisfy them simultaneously”. The Washington Post asked the Russian embassy in Washington regarding this and did not receive a response.
