4 ways China is quietly making life harder for Russia

[IronLionZion]

Last edited Thu Mar 17, 2022, 11:56 AM - Edit history (2)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/business/china-russia-sanctions-friction-intl-hnk/index.html

Hong Kong (CNN Business)China is quietly distancing itself from Russia's sanction-hit economy.

Letting the ruble drop
China's currency, the yuan, doesn't trade completely freely, moving instead within bands set by officials at the People's Bank of China (PBOC). Last week, they doubled the size of the ruble trading range, allowing the Russian currency to fall faster.

Sitting on reserves
The most significant help China could offer Russia is through the $90 billion worth of reserves Moscow holds in yuan, ...
However, "the reputational risk of potentially breaching Western sanctions would be a huge step for the PBOC to take and therefore makes it highly unlikely," ...

Withholding aircraft parts
...Earlier this month, a top Russian official said that China has refused to send aircraft parts to Russia as Moscow looks for alternative supplies.

Freezing infrastructure investment
The World Bank has halted all its programs in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. It hadn't approved any new loans or investments to Russia since 2014, and none to Belarus since 2020.
More surprisingly, perhaps, is the decision by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to do the same. In a statement earlier this month, it said it was suspending all its activities related to Russia and Belarus "as the war in Ukraine unfolds."

Lest anyone was worried about China getting involved, they are allowing Russia to go screw themselves by not even providing very simple assistance. China has always liked money more than war. Uighurs are another story. They're watching Russia's mistakes and might decide invading Taiwan just isn't worth the sanctions.

on edit: DUers be so demanding making my life harder

[bluedigger]

1. it would have been nice to find at least one way in the OP.

[lagomorph777]

2. Here:

Letting the ruble drop
China's currency, the yuan, doesn't trade completely freely, moving instead within bands set by officials at the People's Bank of China (PBOC). Last week, they doubled the size of the ruble trading range, allowing the Russian currency to fall faster.

Sitting on reserves
The most significant help China could offer Russia is through the $90 billion worth of reserves Moscow holds in yuan, ...
However, "the reputational risk of potentially breaching Western sanctions would be a huge step for the PBOC to take and therefore makes it highly unlikely," ...

Withholding aircraft parts
...Earlier this month, a top Russian official said that China has refused to send aircraft parts to Russia as Moscow looks for alternative supplies.

Freezing infrastructure investment
The World Bank has halted all its programs in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. It hadn't approved any new loans or investments to Russia since 2014, and none to Belarus since 2020.
More surprisingly, perhaps, is the decision by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to do the same. In a statement earlier this month, it said it was suspending all its activities related to Russia and Belarus "as the war in Ukraine unfolds."

[Raine]

7. THANKS! 👍

[IronLionZion]

4. There's no paywall, CNN is free

click the link

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. It's also free for YOU to excerpt 4 key paragraphs instead of first four

When an Original Post over-promises in the headline, there is no confidence the article will have the info promised.

Think of your busy DU readers. 20 seconds of your time as one writer, 3600 x 20 seconds of time for 3600 DU readers = 20 hours.

You can take the time.

[IronLionZion]

8. Done

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Cool, thanks! Those will definitely have an impact

I wonder if the airplane parts are for airliners or warplanes.

[IronLionZion]

14. It's for civil airliners

Turkey, India, and others are unlikely to sell them parts either so civil aviation has a bleak future in the world's largest country by land area.

[Chainfire]

3. The close bond of China to Russia

Will work about as well, long term, as the close bond between Germany and the Soviet Union just prior to the German invasion of Poland. It is not even a marriage of convenience, it is more like a one-nighter. If there was ever such a thing as a "natural enemy" Russia and China fit the bill. China is probably perfectly happy to sit back and watch the Russian state self destruct.

[IronLionZion]

5. Russia doesn't have many close bonds

these days they are increasingly isolated. Even North Korea can count on China for assistance.

[Johnny2X2X]

9. China wants stability

China has a national strategy underway that ends with establishing trade across the globe for them, their Belt and Road initiative. Everything they do is in pursuit of that strategic goal, they crave stability.

China sees things as going pretty well for them, the last thing they need is for something to upset the global order. So maybe they saw a quick Russia takeover of Ukraine as best for their goals, but now are probably re-evaluating that because Russia is failing to make things swift and the global community has responded so universally. China doesn't have Russian interests in mind, they couldn't care less if Russia fails. But the second it affects China's goals negatively, China will turn on Russia.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Yes. However, additionally, China & Russia have been adversaries

If China can squeeze Russia without destabilizing things, it will do so and, judging by the article, it has begun.

[Johnny2X2X]

12. Putin is destroying Russia

And he's throwing good money after bad, he refuses to take the outs that are being given to him.

I know Russia is hated, but the world really doesn't need them to break up and have nuclear weapons fall into the hands of more unknown governments. A stable Russia who trades with its neighbors and participates in the world economy is what the world needs.

[IronLionZion]

15. If NATO knows where the nukes are

then as soon as Russia falls apart, they could take out all of them from the air.

[Wounded Bear]

13. More rivals than adversaries, but your point is valid...

China loses little if Russia is diminished, and a lot if Western sanctions move their way.

[FM123]

16. Good article!

What stood out for me:

"While China is Russia's No. 1 trading partner, Beijing has other priorities.
Trade between the two countries made up just 2% of China's total trade volume. The European Union and the United States have much larger shares, according to Chinese customs statistics from last year."

So while making China happy is very important for Russia, not so much the other way around. Perhaps Xi will tell lil bro Putin to knock it off - attacking Ukraine is bad for business....

[IronLionZion]

17. Flying on Russian planes is about to get much more dangerous

Related article https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/business/russia-airlines-sanctions/index.html

Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union mean that the world's two major aircraft makers, Boeing (BA) and Airbus (EADSF), are no longer able to supply spare parts or provide maintenance support for Russian airlines. The same is true of jet engine makers.

That means Russian airlines could run out of necessary parts within a matter of weeks, or fly planes without having equipment replaced as frequently as recommended to operate safely.

"The priority of the Russian government doesn't include consumer safety and reliability," said Charles Lichfield, the deputy director of GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council, an international think tank.
...

Airlines crucial to Russia's economy
That poses a serious problem for Russia's overall economic activity.

Russia is the world's largest nation by landmass, more than twice the size of the continental United States. It needs to have a viable airline industry to keep its economy working, Lichfield said.
...