Joe Webster writes a weekly column about China-Russia relations for The China Project, edits the China-Russia Report and is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, where his portfolio includes hydrogen’s role in the energy transition, North American offshore wind, and other topics across renewables and hydrocarbons.
Joe holds a master’s degree in international relations and China Studies from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, where he was a Mount Vernon Fellow, and received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland.
In this week’s China-Russia update: With tensions between Kazakhstan and Russia rising, China may be looking at how to best preserve its limited — but not unimportant — regional interests. China is also in talks with Russia over a major crude purchase, although it continues to largely comply with sanctions.
China has not uttered an official peep of criticism of Russia for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but it seems to be signaling that it would like to be seen as a neutral party.
Russia-to-China natural gas exports are rising despite what may have been an energy-related spat in late March. And after over a decade of delays, Russia finally completed its portion of a rail bridge connecting the two countries.
Both state-owned and private Chinese companies are generally complying with Western sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, China’s embassy in Moldova appears unfazed by a series of bombings in the former Soviet state, which has its own problems with Moscow.
In this week’s China-Russia update: Beijing offers serious support for Moscow, but so far it is all words and not much money.
In a major blow to Moscow, Huawei announced it would furlough Russian employees for the month of April. But even as China largely complies with the substance of sanctions, Beijing’s rhetorical support for Moscow shows no signs of letup.
With the Russo-Ukrainian War entering its next phase, Beijing is considering its options and pursuing its own interests on an issue-by-issue basis.
While China maintains a strategic friendliness with Russia and shared antipathy for the U.S.-dominated world order, Chinese companies have recently shown extreme caution in maintaining sanctions compliance. What is Beijing’s next move?
China, the world’s largest oil importer, is laying the groundwork to pipe in Russian crude and other products that the U.S. and Europe are boycotting.