Ukraine war casts shadow over China’s belt and road ties with Russia-led Eurasian trade bloc
- Collaboration between the Eurasian Economic Framework and Belt and Road Initiative at risk of ‘secondary sanctions’, analysts say
- Increasingly wary of external uncertainty, China is prioritising risk control and prevention for its belt and road push this year
Western sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine invasion are forcing China to recalibrate ties with the Eurasian Economic Framework (EAEU), an economic union of post-Soviet states, with collaborations under the Belt and Road Initiative now at risk of “secondary sanctions”.
Beijing and Moscow signed a joint statement on cooperation between the EAEU and belt and road projects in 2015, a year after the union between Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was established.
China and the EAEU agreed on greater economic coordination in 13 areas, including customs, trade, intellectual property rights, e-commerce and government procurement.
The enhanced coordination meant countries would not have to “choose between Russia and China”, said a commentary by the China Institute of International studies.
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