Russia said on Sunday that it was banking on China to help it weather the economic hit from Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, but the US urged Beijing against doing so.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov claimed that sanctions have cut off access to $300 billion of Moscow’s $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves and that Beijing was under pressure to cut off much more.
“A portion of our gold and foreign exchange reserves are held in yuan, the Chinese currency. We can also see what pressure Western countries are putting on China in order to limit mutual trade. Naturally, there is a push to restrict access to those reserves,” he stated.
“However, I believe that our partnership with China will allow us to retain, and not only maintain, but significantly enhance, our cooperation in an environment where Western markets are closing.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what it terms a special military operation, Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on their corporate and financial systems.
Siluanov’s statements in a TV appearance were the strongest indication yet that Moscow will seek Chinese assistance to mitigate the impact.
However, according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the US is warning China not to provide it.
“We are speaking directly and privately with Beijing that large-scale sanctions, evasion efforts, or support for Russia to backfill them would undoubtedly have consequences,” Sullivan told reporters.
“We will not allow that to happen, and we will not allow any government, anywhere in the world, to provide a lifeline to Russia through these economic sanctions,” said Sullivan, who will meet China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday.
In recent years, Russia and China have increased their cooperation as both have come under intense Western pressure over human rights and a variety of other issues. Beijing has not criticized Russia’s attack on Ukraine, nor has it called it an invasion, but it has called for a diplomatic settlement.
On February 4, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in Beijing and proclaimed strategic cooperation aimed at opposing US influence, describing it as a friendship without bounds.
After the European Union, China is Russia’s most important export market. According to China’s customs office, Russian exports to China totaled $79.3 billion in 2021, with oil and gas accounting for 56% of that total.
