A journey of friendship, cooperation and peace. That's
how Chinese President Xi Jinping referred to his latest visit
to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. And this
friendship is surely thriving especially on the economic front.
Xi's three day visit to Moscow comes at a critical
time for Russia. The country is facing unprecedented sanctions
by the us and its allies over Putin's invasion of
Ukraine. The Russian economy shrunk by 2.1% last year
and the country is expected to lose$190 billion 2026
. Because of the war against this backdrop, Beijing
has offered Moscow much needed economic and diplomatic support.
China's imports from Russia have soared since the war began
providing the Kremlin with a vital source of cash.
One of the key imports driving this trend, oil
, China's imports of Russian NAFTA and fuel oil have
increased significantly in the last year. Yet in his
visit to Moscow, Xi avoided making any commitments regarding
a potential deal on gas with Russia. Signaling some
hesitation from China on appearing too close to the.
So what does this mean in terms of China's position
on the war in Ukraine, what this shows us
is that China has decided very much to support Russia
economically through trade and investment, even as it tries
to position itself increasingly as a potential mediator on the
war in Ukraine. And that regardless of what Xi
Jinping may think himself about the conflict, he's not
going to take any actions that might be seen to
be taking the lead from the US or the West
more broadly. And so when it comes to the
war in Ukraine, for China, it's very much
a balancing act.