China and Russia

Russia, China Promote "Unprecedented" Cooperation Despite Western "Illegitimate Sanctions"

 

Moscow and Beijing strengthen their ties, despite China's insistence on showing itself as a neutral actor in the conflict ordered by Vladimir Putin.

 

Today, relations between Russia and China are at an unprecedented high level according to the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin after signing a series of economic pacts on May 24 in Beijing, where he was received with honors and held meetings with his counterpart Li Qiang and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Among the d eals signed is an agreement to deepen investment cooperation in commercial services and the export of agricultural products to China.

 

Beyond maintaining a diplomatic ally in the midst of the international isolation in which it finds itself submerged, Moscow relies on the Asian giant in an attempt to come out of the financial sanctions imposed from the West for the invasion of its neighboring country.

 

In addition, a 40% increase in Russian energy exports to Chinese territory is expected, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

 

China is willing to work with Russia to promote their pragmatic cooperation in various fields and bring it to a "new level."

 

Moscow seeks to challenge the West in the face of the "pressure of illegitimate sanctions"

 

With the war in Ukraine dragging on and Russia increasingly feeling the brunt of Western sanctions, Moscow is leaning on Beijing far more than its ally, feeding off Chinese demand for oil and gas. Chinese influence grows as Moscow's international isolation deepens.

 

After Russian gas exports plummeted under a spate of sanctions from Europe and the United States, China became Russia's biggest energy customer last year. A strong dependence on Moscow towards its new ally, after decades of mistrust between the two governments.

 

Given sanctions against Russia provide new opportunities for China, it is not surprising that China is happy to actively and proactively engage economically with Russia, as long as the relationships they forge do not trigger secondary sanctions against China.

 

And it is that Beijing is Moscow's largest trading partner with bilateral trade that reached a record of 190,000 million dollars in 2022, according to Chinese customs data.