The new episode of the column «East West» by Federico Rampini starts from three numbers: 240, 800, 660: the first number represents, in billions, the current exchange between Russia and the China; the second, the trade between China and European Union. The third, finally, is the one between China and the United States. «Important figures – underlines Rampini – because the summit will be held in Beijing in between Xi Jinping And Putin».
The alliance between Russia and China has exaggerated the economic relations between the two countries: «Russia is now dependent on China for almost everything and has to sell it energy at discounted prices to procure goods it once bought from the West – explains Rampini – A bilateral trade that has intensified since the beginning of the war in Ukraine».
China-Russia bilateral trade, however, accounts for just one-sixth of economic ties between China and the West. «It is important to remember this because the economy is not everything – Rampini notes – Material interest is not always the dominant motivation of a country».
«If economics were really the dominant motivation, China should have a much friendlier policy towards the West – he continues – But Russia itself should have avoided criminal aggression against Ukraine». There are other forces in the world more powerful than economic interests: «One is the ideology of autocratic regimes that see the West and its model as a threat». «For many, many years there have been ideologies around the world that unfortunately are much more lethal, dangerous and even capable of sowing death and destruction than economic interests», he concludes.
May 16, 2024
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