Russia's wartime lifeline from China comes with a price: an 'embarrassing reversal' for Moscow
Moscow's wartime pivot to Beijing has helped keep Russia's economy afloat under the weight of sweeping Western sanctions — but at a cost.
What looks like a lifeline today may lock Moscow into a long-term role as Beijing's junior economic partner. Russia is now heavily dependent on China for key manufactured goods and advanced inputs blocked by Western sanctions, according to a report from the Atlantic Council, a think tank, published on Friday.
"Economically and politically, Russia's relationship with China is simultaneously deeply asymmetrical and mutually beneficial," wrote Elina Ribakova, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Lucas Risinger, an economic analyst and nonresident research fellow at the Kyiv School of Economics Institute.
China buys up Russian oil at volumes that offset lost European customers — at a discount — while Russia buys machinery, vehicles, and electronics from the East Asian giant amid Western boycotts and sanctions.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/russia-s-wartime-lifeline-from-china-comes-with-a-price-an-embarrassing-reversal-for-moscow/ar-AA1SvkIx