China’s manufacturers feel the pain of Ukraine crisis as customers have ‘no desire to pay’

China is the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, but sanctions are being felt by customers in both countries, and has even spread to other regions

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said on Tuesday that China was hoping to ‘promote our normal trade’ with both Russia and Ukraine

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The United States its European allies have announced financial sanctions against Russia, excluding some Russian banks from the Swift financial messaging system and freezing some accesses to Western financial markets. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:30pm, 2 Mar 2022Updated: 4:54pm, 9 Mar 2022

Manufacturers in China are starting to feel the pain of the unfolding crisis in Ukraine as financial sanctions placed on Russia have started to filter through to export customers.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said on Tuesday that China was hoping to “promote our normal trade” with both Russia and Ukraine, with Beijing still attempting to walk the diplomatic tightrope between Moscow and Kyiv.

“My Ukrainian and Russian business has been directly impacted,” said Bob Yao, co-founder of a digital printing production company in Guangdong province.

“We lost contact with my Ukraine client. And another Russian customer sounded no desire to pay and let us deliver goods all at once because the rouble has been devalued.”

China is the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, but Yao said the impact of Russia’s invasion has even spread to customers in other regions.

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