Russia and China: strategic convergence in the shadow of sanctions
Photo. The Presidential Press and Information Office/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0
Putin’s presence at the SCO summit in Beijing and his meeting with Xi Jinping confirmed that Moscow and Beijing are no longer occasional partners but are moving toward a structured alliance aimed at bypassing sanctions and creating alternative economic routes.
China’s decision to consider opening its domestic capital market to Russian energy companies such as Rosatom marks a symbolic breakthrough. Since 2022, Beijing has been cautious, carefully weighing the threat of secondary sanctions. Today, however, it signals readiness to accept the political risk in order to secure strategic gains. For Moscow, this means access to corporate financing in China for the first time since the war began — an opening that relieves pressure from Western isolation.
The energy sector shows even bolder steps. Deliveries of Russian oil and LNG, including from sanctioned projects, are reaching Chinese ports. TheArctic Mulan tanker, loaded with gas from Arctic LNG-2, exemplifies how Beijing is willing to absorb the costs of ignoring US restrictions. This is not a tactical choice but a strategic decision to strengthen energy interdependence with Russia.
At the center of this architecture lies the yuan. It is replacing the dollar and euro in Russia’s external trade and emerging as a structural pillar of Moscow’s economic survival. The potential issuance of panda bonds institutionalizes this trend and indicates Beijing’s intent to expand the yuan’s role globally. What once seemed like a tool of convenience is becoming an instrument of long-term economic governance.
Looking ahead, the Sino-Russian partnership appears less about crisis management and more about shaping an alternative order. For China, Russia is a laboratory for testing the resilience of non-Western finance and energy supply chains. For Russia, China is not only a lifeline but also a shield that blunts Western pressure. This dynamic suggests that both sides are investing in more than short-term adaptation — they are consciously constructing a model of multipolarity that could, over time, redefine the economic balance of power.
