07 November 2024

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China should learn from Russian ‘resilience’ in sanctions defense: researchers

Government researchers have recommended several steps China should take to prepare for potential sanctions, using Russia as case study 

China-Russia relations: Latest News and Updates | South China Morning Post

China-Russia relations: Latest News and Updates | South China Morning Post


China should learn from Russia’s struggles with US-led sanctions and take pre-emptive action to boost self-sufficiency in grain and energy, researchers at a government think tank said, while also making its industrial chains more resilient through regional partnerships and diversification.

Their calls have gained urgency following Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s US presidential election, a result likely to intensify tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

“The decoupling, breaking, and choking of industrial chains are likely to become the norm in future great power rivalries,” cautioned Zhang Qizai, deputy director of the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Zhang and fellow researcher Chen Hanxue published their findings in the latest issue of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies, an academic journal.

They urged China to prepare for risks by learning from Russia, whose industrial chains “demonstrated strong resilience in the face of extreme sanctions” since the onset of the war in Ukraine.

Their research, reposted on the institute’s official WeChat account on Tuesday, came as worries mount in China over the looming threat of US sanctions and the “weaponisation” of the US dollar, with Trump’s return expected to exacerbate geopolitical strife.

“China must further strengthen the stability and supply security of key industries such as food, energy and minerals,” the academics said, calling such a move essential for industrial resilience as well as the functioning of the national economy.

China rejects Nato claim of being ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia in Ukraine war
Zhang and Chen also recommended Beijing improve its emergency management systems and increase transparency in food and energy industrial chains, highlighting the critical role of feed and fertilisers in safeguarding the grain supply.

The government can guide enterprises to establish capacity in the country’s north and northwest, they added, and foster partnerships with neighbouring countries like Russia and Kazakhstan to create stable cross-border supply chains.

“While the US used the dollar to impose financial sanctions on Russia, aiming for a ‘financial nuclear bomb’ effect, the impact has been limited,” the researchers said. “[It] could even undermine the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency.”

Following the war’s outbreak in February 2022, the US and its Western allies levied a wave of stringent sanctions against Russia, including unprecedented export curbs, financial restrictions, and caps on oil prices.

Russian banks were cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication – the premier international messaging network for cross-border transactions – and about US$300 billion of Moscow’s overseas assets have been frozen.

In response, Russia turned to countries outside the West to continue normal trading, creating an opportunity for greater use of China’s currency.

“[We should] seize the opportunity for the yuan’s internationalisation brought by ‘de-dollarisation,’ strengthen financial infrastructure, and streamline cross-border yuan payment processes,” authors said.

The government researchers also called for the diversification of China’s industrial chains via the country’s international platforms and trade agreements, naming the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as examples.

Mutual international recognition on logistics standards was also encouraged to diversify the country’s transport channels and storage infrastructure.

Leading companies in globally competitive sectors like rail, new energy and power systems should also be supported in their efforts to build brands with independent intellectual property and global influence, the authors said.

“This could serve as a breakthrough to establishing China’s leading position in global industrial chains … and enhance our deterrent capacity against potential disruptions.”

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