Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping can’t protect the Russian economy from the “consequences” of intensified Western sanctions in response to a prospective major Russian offensive against Ukraine, according to U.S. officials.
“If Russia thinks that it will be in a position to make up some of those consequences to mitigate some of those consequences by a closer relationship with the PRC, that is not the case,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said, using the acronym for the official name of the Chinese state. “It will actually make the Russian economy, in many ways, more brittle.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been negotiating with European allies to develop a trans-Atlantic plan to impose unprecedented economic punishment on Russia in response to the mobilization of its forces around Ukraine’s borders. Putin, who authorized those apparent invasion preparations while demanding a practical contraction of NATO, has complained that Western officials are ignoring his demands and arranged public shows of support from Beijing.
THREATS TO PUTIN’S INNER CIRCLE MAY DO LITTLE TO SHIFT UKRAINE PLANS
“By working together, we can achieve stable economic growth and improve the well-being of our citizens, strengthen our competitiveness, and stand together against today’s risks and challenges,” Putin said in an op-ed published Thursday in Xinhua, a Chinese state media outlet. “We are consistently expanding the practice of settlements in national currencies and creating mechanisms to offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions.”
Russia has incurred Western sanctions for a variety of controversies in the last several years, chiefly stemming from the 2014 annexation of Crimea and destabilization of eastern Ukraine, and Russian cyberattacks against 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton compounded the tensions. China has opposed “unilateral” Western sanctions — in contrast to sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council, where Beijing and Moscow have veto authority — and has backed Russia in the latest escalation of tensions around Ukraine.
“The Russian side reported on the latest developments in relations with the U.S. and NATO, stressing the principled stance that security is indivisible,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday while hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing. “China expresses its understanding and support for this.”
The crisis could soon deepen, as Putin has poised Russian forces around Ukraine and even in Belarus — sending U.S. officials scrambling to find a way to deter a Russian attack without committing American troops to the fighting.
“We will start at the top of the escalation ladder and stay there,” a senior administration official said recently while explaining that the sanctions could include export controls that ban Western countries from providing Russia with technology that is essential to high-end manufacturing and research. “We’re willing to work with any country in order to deny Russia the input that it needs to diversify its economy.”
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Price reiterated that threat while dismissing Putin’s alignment with Xi. “This is a recipe for catastrophe for the Russian economy,” he said. “No partnership can account for the massive economic toll that we’ve talked about, given the financial tools that are available to us, the sanctions tools that are available to us, and the export control actions, among others, that we’re in a position to take.”
