Will China help Russia to cope with sanctions?

More active cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in various areas will provide an opportunity to reduce the negative impact on the results of economic cooperation between the two countries. This statement was made today by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich at the 10th plenary session of the Russian-Chinese Committee of Friendship, Peace and Development.

"We have to realize our joint plans and do everything to make our cooperation intensified, and develop it in all possible directions. This will reduce the impact of the current situation upon the volumes of our cooperation,’’ Tass cites him as saying.

As Dvorkovich explained, the actions of individual countries, including European ones, won’t seriously affect the level of Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister explained that today the government, despite the observed decline, hopes to achieve the main goals: firstly, the growth of trade to $100 billion and then to $200 billion in a few years.

He added that Moscow and Beijing have moved to the next stage of interaction that provided with the help of the friendly personal relations between the two heads of state. These ties make it possible to implement new projects in all areas, including energy and transport.

‘‘It is natural that deep cooperation with China gives Russia an opportunity to compensate for the effect of the EU and US sanctions, but is a reference point to the East. It isn’t due to the worsening of relations with the West. It is a long-term self-goal, which had been established before the imposition of sanctions,’’ the deputy director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, Andrey Korneyev, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.

The director of the Center for East Asia and the SCO of MGIMO, Alexander Lukin, was a bit more skeptical, saying that the cooperation with China will help to neutralize the negative effect of Russian anti-sanctions, rather than Western sanctions.

"What are the Western economic sanctions? Does anyone lose an opportunity to travel to the West? China cannot help us. If we speak about bank loans, in recent years many Chinese banks have been afraid of American sanctions in case of cooperating with Russia. Therefore, China won't show activity,’’ he explained.