The G7 has just sent warnings to Russia and China: they welcomed Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at the Hiroshima summit and condemned Xi Jinping’s strategy of “economic coercion” (here the definition of the term) and his ambition to get his hands on Taiwan.
The answer comes from Beijing, where Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin landed with a battalion of 1,200 businessmen in tow looking for deals to evade Western sanctions.
Immediately, Sino-Russian diplomacy developed a new slogan after Xi and Putin introduced the slogan “Cooperation Without Borders” last year (on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine).
Relations between Russia and China are at an “unprecedented level,” Mishustin said, adding to his Premier Li Qiang, “As you like to say, dear Chinese friends, with unity it is also possible to move mountains.”
Meanwhile, the Russian prime minister can be satisfied with the mountain of goods and products moving along the Moscow-Beijing axis: by the end of 2023, trade will reach $200 billion, he said (transactions between the two countries are now mainly taking place). in Chinese yuan, increasing Xi’s bargaining power with his friend Putin).
China is Russia’s most important trading partner; In April, Beijing Customs recorded a 153% year-on-year increase in exports to Moscow. In turn, Russian oil and gas imports increased by 40%.
However, Beijing is aware that trade with “Russian friends” is worth about a tenth of trade with the US and European Union (which Xi also accuses of wanting to stem and stem the rise of China).
The G7 urged Xi to put pressure on Putin to end his aggression against Ukraine. Chinese envoy Li Hui has just met Zelenskyy in Kiev and is now preparing to travel to Moscow, where he is expected on Friday.
Putin is currently playing a game for the survival of his power system; Xi Jinping has many other strategic options.