China, Russia ties stronger than ever despite sanctions by US, EU: Russian diplomat

Beijing, Dec 24 (PTI) A top Russian diplomat has said that the US and the EU sanctions against his country after the Ukraine war have not weakened close ties between Beijing and Moscow as the two allies fostered closer dialogue and higher levels of mutual trust.

China-Russia relations had reached “their highest level in history” in terms of depth and mutual trust, and ties between the two countries would continue to develop in a steady and dynamic manner, Russia's ambassador to China, Igor Morgulov, said at a forum at Renmin University in Beijing on Tuesday.

He attributed the momentum in part to close head-of-state diplomacy between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, as well as the series of activities commemorating the anniversaries to mark the end of World War II.

Morgulov portrayed the deepening partnership as a response to efforts aimed at constraining both countries’ technological development and distorting fair competition.

China and Russia had expanded cooperation in an “extremely complex” international environment, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

The two countries opened efficient communication channels, worked to stabilise global production and logistics chains and established reliable bilateral settlement mechanisms.

“Almost all bilateral trade is now conducted in local currencies,” Morgulov said, adding that the two economies were “complementary, with broad and multidimensional space for cooperation”.

Russia has faced extensive sanctions from the US and EU since 2022, targeting its economy, energy, finance, and individuals to weaken its war effort in Ukraine.

The sanctions included energy bans, freezing assets of banks, restricting tech exports, removing banks from SWIFT, and implementing oil price caps. The tough measures included targeting "shadow fleet" vessels carrying Russian oil.   For its part, China has faced pressure from the US and EU countries for not condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China has also been accused of selling drone components and “dual-use” technologies to Russia.

China has repeatedly denied the accusations, which have led to sanctions being imposed on certain Chinese entities and individuals.

China, the largest importer of oil and gas from Russia, shrugged off threats of US sanctions, defended its trade with Moscow as legitimate and lawful and warned the US that it will take “firm countermeasures” if its rights are harmed by any unilateral sanctions by Washington.

According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, China buys 60 per cent of Russian energy supplies. India was the second-largest importer of Russian oil. Besides oil, China also sources most of its gas supplies from Russia through cross-border pipelines. PTI KJV ZH ZH