Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure only deepen Moscow’s dependence on Beijing.
Xi Jinping and Putin / © Associated Press
Despite Moscow’s claims of an “equal partnership” with Beijing, Russia is increasingly reliant on China for trade, technology, finance, and energy.
This is reported by Serbian journalist and analyst Nikola Mikovic in a column for the South China Morning Post.
According to the author, although Russia and China have significantly strengthened their cooperation in recent years, this relationship cannot be called equal due to its clear asymmetry.
This is primarily evident in trade. For Russia, China has become its main economic partner, while the Russian market accounts for only about 4% of China’s foreign trade.
Furthermore, Russia sells almost all of its natural gas to China at a significantly lower price than to other buyers. According to the author, the cost of supply to China is $258.8 per thousand cubic meters, while for other countries, it is $420.2.
“Russia has also become heavily dependent on China economically, technologically, and financially. Russia significantly relies on China for critical technologies and equipment, while Chinese brands dominate the Russian market for consumer electronics and the automotive industry,” Mikovic notes.
The author also pointed out that following Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries, Moscow is negotiating the import of Chinese oil products, which could further increase its dependence on Beijing.
“In a partnership where one side relies on the other for both export earnings and critical imports, the very idea of equality seems highly questionable,” the analyst emphasized.
At the same time, according to him, the Kremlin continues to portray this relationship as an equal partnership, while China pursues a pragmatic policy and does not emphasize its role as the senior partner.
In Mikovic’s opinion, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has effectively found itself in China’s geo-economic orbit. This model of cooperation benefits Beijing, while Moscow, cut off from a significant portion of Western markets, has virtually no alternative to the Chinese direction.
It was previously reported that China has involved Russia in developing a comprehensive strategy to counter SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system.
We previously informed that Gazprom shares collapsed to a minimum as China blocked the Kremlin’s main gas hope.
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