Analysis: Sanctions response to Russia's invasion offers clues for China

Sanctions on Russia are a louder wake-up call

Under President Xi Jinping, China has pushed for self-reliance in key areas of technology and the payments needed to settle trade to minimise its vulnerability to economic pressure over flashpoints, from trade policy to Taiwan.

Qazet.az reports that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the tough global response, including curtailment of access to the SWIFT payments system and a freezing of Russian assets, provide a case study for China on the economic and financial vulnerabilities analysts expect it will continue to address.

The unexpectedly heavy sanctions, led by the West, have exposed vulnerabilities for Russia, including dependence on the U.S. dollar, that China would want to mitigate before becoming the target of any such measures.

While the China-U.S. trade war during the Trump administration forced China to seek greater self-sufficiency, the sanctions on Russia are a louder wake-up call, said Abraham Zhang, chairman of Shenzhen-based China Europe Capital.

"Just as China needs food security, China also needs oil reserves, and a complete industrial system, so that if China is one day cut off from external supplies as Russia is now, China can still be self-sufficient, maintain internal circulation, and survive," Zhang said.

China has in recent years ramped-up efforts to develop home-grown technologies, from semiconductors to advanced materials to aircraft, to ease reliance on imports. Huawei Technologies, crippled by sanctions preventing its access to high-end chips, is a cautionary example.