The West is trying to increase sanctions pressure on Russia and China, using the close relations between them as an excuse to create additional restrictions for Chinese companies, the Global Times says. According to the editorial board, these efforts will not succeed, as Beijing is determined to protect its interests, and Russia-China relations show great potential.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s official visit to Beijing on Monday caught the attention of many observers, and understandably so, as the minister travelled at a time when trade relations between Russia and China have reached a crucial crossroads, the Global Times said in an editorial. As the editorial explains, while Moscow is actively expanding cooperation with the Asia-Pacific market and systematically increasing interaction with China, the West is increasing sanctions pressure, creating serious challenges to the Russia-China economic partnership.
The Western countries’ attempts to inconvenience China in its trade relations with Russia are not only related to the hostilities in Ukraine; they are also conditioned by Washington’s strategic goals, which seeks to contain China, the GT article emphasises. In this sense, the partnership with Moscow is nothing more than an excuse for the West to harm Chinese companies and slow down the development of the country’s industry, the newspaper’s journalists believe.
However, China is ready to resist: as Mao Ning, the official spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, explained back in February, normal trade relations between Moscow and Beijing cannot and will not be subjected to illegal interference by third countries, and attempts to unilaterally impose illegal sanctions against Chinese enterprises will be strongly resisted, the Global Times recalls.
Beijing is determined to protect its interests within the framework of international law, and US policy will not force it to compromise its principles, the publication warns. Meanwhile, the stable growth of trade turnover between Russia and China, as well as the transition to roubles and yuan in trade between them, show that the partnership between the two countries still retains serious potential, which will not be undermined even by the difficult international situation, GT journalists summarise.
