China’s support for Russia galvanises US, Europe as Washington examines once-unthinkable sanctions against Beijing
- Chinese leaders get a look at what can be possible when Western allies unite to hobble the economy of a major power
- Beijing has failed to convince the West of its self-proclaimed neutrality on the Ukraine war as political winds shift rapidly
Within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China watched the United States and its allies thrash Moscow’s economy with astonishing speed, coordination and power. Now officials in Washington are looking ahead towards a once-unthinkable possibility: in a future moment of crisis, would those same economic weapons work against China too?
In the weeks since Washington unleashed the broadest sanctions in history against Russia, studies are already under way within US President Joe Biden’s administration to learn how similar economic tools might one day affect Beijing.
At the same time, as the European Union’s relations with China have plunged to unprecedented depths, the US has also floated these theories with allies in Europe, a sign of the resurgent transatlantic cooperation galvanised by the war.
Conversations and statements from officials on both sides of the Atlantic reveal a new geopolitical landscape emerging at lightning pace – one that appears increasingly likely to isolate China as long as Beijing’s leaders continue to stand behind the Kremlin. They reflect not only Washington’s focus on its rivalry with Beijing even as the war in Ukraine rages into its seventh week, but also the wildly shifting political winds in Europe.
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Ordinary Russians feel economic pain of Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine invasion
Outraged by the Chinese government’s tacit backing for a brutal Russian war on its doorstep and frustrated by Beijing’s stubborn refusal to engage in serious dialogue on Ukraine, the EU has all but given up hope that China might help.
Six months ago, transatlantic ties were fractured after the fallout from a submarine deal with Australia helped undermine the Biden administration’s push to repair a relationship that had nosedived. But in a matter of weeks, the EU has become more open to American advances, with top officials speaking glowingly about a new era of cooperation with Washington and unusually disparagingly towards Beijing – even if the bloc is still some way off committing to sanctioning China.