China Pursues Economic Expansion With Russia

Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping hosted Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing on Tuesday. The two sides mapped out ways to deepen economic cooperation between their nations. China’s aim to deepen ties is a major lifeline to Russia as it contends with increasing sanctions from the West.

A ‘strategic choice’: Russia took a blow last month when United States President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on two of its largest oil companies.

• The aim was to dry up funding for the war and pressure Russia to work toward a ceasefire with Ukraine.
• The sanctions included a mechanism stipulating that any financial institution that does business with these two companies will be blocked from U.S. capital markets.
• Though China’s major state-owned firms have suspended seaborne oil purchases from Russia, the nation is still buying large quantities of Russia’s pipeline crude.

Xi’s meeting with Mishustin signals that China is exploring additional ways to maintain and boost trade with Russia—despite the sanctions.

Safeguarding, consolidating and developing China-Russia relations is a strategic choice for both sides.
—Xi Jinping

Kings of the east: Russia’s war on Ukraine alarms much of the Western world. But many Asian nations have stood by Russia, with China chief among them.

This alignment of Asian powers behind Russia is advancing biblical prophecy, which describes a coalition of Eastern nations uniting against Western powers in the end time. To learn why Asia will continue to rally around Russia, read Russia and China in Prophecy.