Russia has stated that it is relying on China for assistance in surviving the crippling economic sanctions imposed by Western nations over the Ukraine conflict, despite the fact that the US has warned Beijing not to provide such a lifeline.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said sanctions had denied Moscow access to $300 billion of its $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, and that Beijing was under pressure to cut off more.
“We keep a portion of our gold and foreign exchange reserves in yuan, the Chinese currency.” And we can see what pressure Western countries are putting on China in order to limit mutual trade with China. Naturally, there is pressure to restrict access to those reserves,” he said on Sunday.
“However, I believe that our partnership with China will allow us to not only maintain, but also expand our cooperation in an environment where Western markets are closing.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in what it calls a “special military operation” on February 24, Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s corporate and financial systems.
Siluanov’s comments in a TV interview were the clearest indication yet from Moscow that it will seek assistance from China to mitigate the impact.
However, according to US NSA Jake Sullivan, Washington has warned China not to provide it.
“We are communicating directly and privately to Beijing that there will be consequences for large-scale sanctions, evasion efforts, or support to Russia to backfill them,” Sullivan told CNN.
“We will not allow that to happen, and we will not allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions imposed by any country, anywhere in the world,” said Sullivan, who is scheduled to meet China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday.
China has been one of the few countries to refrain from criticizing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Just weeks before Russia launched its February 24 invasion, China’s Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
During Putin’s visit to China last month, the two leaders issued a 5,000-word statement declaring “no limits” in the two countries’ friendship.
Officials in China have also stated that Washington should not be able to complain about Russia’s actions because the US invaded Iraq under false pretenses. The United States claimed to have evidence that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, but none were ever discovered.
After the European Union, China is Russia’s largest export market. According to China’s customs agency, Russian exports to China were worth $79.3 billion in 2021, with oil and gas accounting for 56% of that total.
Source: NEWS AGENCIES
