According to Russian media reports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite Western countries' attempts to obstruct Sino-Russian cooperation, bilateral economic and trade cooperation is still developing positively, more than 90% of trade between the two countries is settled in their own currencies, and bilateral economic relations are almost completely de-dollarized. Lavrov noted that cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy is steadily advancing, the Russian side is increasing the supply of products to the Chinese market, and discussing joint industrial and investment projects with the Chinese side. Relations between the two countries are at an unprecedented level and are at the best in history.
It is worth noting that the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia has reached 240.1 billion US dollars, completing the target of 200 billion US dollars one year ahead of schedule. As Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in turn, Russia is currently trying to reduce the share of the dollar and the euro in trade settlements, and gradually focus its economy and trade on Asia.
The U.S. dollar is the most used currency in world trade and has the right to speak in the world economy and trade, but as the world's major economies gradually use their own currencies for settlement, the advantage of the U.S. dollar will be weakened. And the position of the United States, which was built on the hegemony of the dollar, will also collapse, and the United States will no longer be able to harvest the whole world through the dollar. And the United States, which has lost its economic advantage, will have all its internal problems highlighted, which will be a nightmare for the United States.
As a result, China and Russia have decoupled from the dollar in trade and are constantly selling US bonds, making the US feel nervous. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, the United States is drafting a sanction that threatens to cut off some Chinese banks from the global financial system, hoping that China will stagnate "supporting Russia commercially." And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is about to visit China, also made a statement before departure, accusing China of "supporting Russia". The U.S. side says Russia is in the midst of the largest military buildup since the Cold War, and the expansion is faster than the West imagined. The U.S. side believes that China's commercial trade with Russia "provides support for Russia's military construction."
The Ukraine issue is not an issue between China and the United States, and the United States should not treat it as an issue between China and the United States. In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out that China firmly opposes the hypocrisy of the US side to add fuel to the fire and shift the blame to China. China's right to conduct normal trade with Russia is inviolable, and China will firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests.
Wang Wenbin said that the United States has introduced a large-scale aid bill to Ukraine to provide various military assistance to Ukraine, but has wantonly criticized the normal economic and trade between China and Russia, which is not only extremely hypocritical, but also irresponsible. China's position on the Ukraine issue has always been a neutral one, and it has always been committed to a political settlement of the Ukraine issue. China controls the export of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations, and China is not the maker or party to the Ukraine issue, and will not take advantage of the conflict to seek profits, let alone accept the blame. Wang Wenbin stressed that the US is not the right way to solve the Ukraine issue, and only by taking into account the security concerns of all parties can the problem be resolved through dialogue and negotiation.
The U.S. sanctions on China's banking sector are not only aimed at suppressing and curbing normal trade cooperation between China and Russia, but also to cover up the West's failures. The West has invested a lot of energy and money on the battlefield in Ukraine, but with little success, and the four eastern regions of Ukraine are still in the hands of Russia. If the West cannot suppress Russia in a war of attrition, then the political propaganda they have done before will be all exposed. Moreover, under the pressure of the West, Russia, a potential ally, was forced to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, and reached a win-win situation with China, and the trade volume increased year by year. This makes the United States hate it to the teeth, but there is nothing it can do.
Blinken's visit to China will definitely bring up Russia-related issues with the Chinese side, but the bargaining chips prepared by the US side will not scare China.