China’s support for Russia through oil and gas purchases is irking Washington and raising the risk of US retaliation, foreign observers say, though they see no sign Beijing is helping Moscow evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Beijing’s importance as a lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin rose after the 27-nation European Union, the main market for fossil fuels that supply most of Moscow’s foreign income, agreed to stop oil purchases.
President Xi Jinping’s government declared ahead of Russia’s Feb 24 attack that it had a ‘no limits’ friendship with Moscow and has kept the West guessing about whether it might bail Putin out. China rejects the sanctions as illegal because the United States, Europe and Japan cut off Russia from their markets and the global banking system without working through the United Nations, where Beijing and Moscow have veto power.
The sanctions don’t prohibit China, India or other countries from buying Russian oil and gas. But President Joe Biden has warned Xi of unspecified consequences if Beijing helps Moscow evade sanctions. That leaves open the risk that Chinese companies might be punished by losing access to valuable Western markets.