this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
154 points (96.4% liked)

World News

39174 readers
2090 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

China threw Russia an economic lifebelt after the West hit Moscow with sanctions over the war in Ukraine. As Putin prepares to visit Beijing this week to promote even closer ties, Washington is ramping up the pressure.

Days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West foisted deep sanctions on Moscow in the hopes of hurting Russia's ability to finance the conflict. The sanctions targeted politicians and oligarchs, froze foreign reserves, curbed access to Western technology and cut Russian banks off from the Swift international payment messaging system.

The financial penalties were widely expected to bring Russia to its knees. Initially, the ruble plummeted in value and the Russian economy contracted by 1.2% in 2022. Last year, however, Russia's growth outpaced both the United States and Europe at 3.6%. The country is on course for another strong year in 2024. 

Much of that growth came in the way of trade with China, which acted as a counterweight to the West by refusing to impose sanctions and becoming a major buyer of Russian energy. Despite pressure from the US and the European Union, the two countries have formed a deeper alliance since the war started.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


The sanctions targeted politicians and oligarchs, froze foreign reserves, curbed access to Western technology and cut Russian banks off from the Swift international payment messaging system.

"For Russia, besieged by sanctions and global isolation, China is a key lifeline for its wartime economy," Philipp Ivanov, founder and senior advisor of the consultancy Geopolitical Risks + Strategy Practice, told DW.

"China is the main destination for Russian energy trade and the major provider of critical equipment and technologies that Russia can no longer access in the West."

While Russia has now become China's top crude oil supplier, some analysts think technological exports rather than energy have played a bigger role in boosting bilateral trade.

After all, Russia made those energy deals with China at a huge discount after the West cut its reliance on Russian oil and gas in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.

"China will not dramatically limit its economic support, but will seek more covert channels of providing it — through third-country transit and transactions, which is already occurring through Central Asian countries," said Ivanov.


The original article contains 845 words, the summary contains 172 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!