China is reportedly studying how Russia evaded sanctions in its war on Ukraine as it preps to extend its own imperialistic control over Taiwan.
China's support of the Russian economy amid its war has become a case study on circumventing Western sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported.
As China is preparing for potential economic sanctions from the West amid its "One China" policy designs to keep Taiwan under its sphere of influence, Chinese officials are maintaining close connections with Russia's leaders on how to mitigate the impact of sanctions, sources told the Journal.
"For the Chinese, Russia is really a sandbox on how sanctions work and how to manage them," Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Director Alexander Gabuev told the paper. "They know that if there is a Taiwan contingency, the tool kit that will be applied against them will be similar."
There is no invasion of Taiwan planned, but China's preparations for sanctions is in the event of an "extreme scenario," the sources told the Journal.
China's vice premier overseeing economic and financial affairs, He Lifen, has a direct line to President Xi Jinping and is "the chief architect for ring fencing China’s economy from Western sanctions," the Journal reported.
China is "very interested in practically everything: from ways of circumventing them to all sorts of positive effects, such as incentives for the development of domestic production," a source told the paper.
One challenge for China is it has been the leading lifeline for Russia's stability against the West's sanctions, but China is much larger and not able to be sustained in kind in the event the West sanctions China as it did Russia, but preparation is key.
"China learned that the West can get their act together on sanctions when they have to," European Council on Foreign Relations' Agathe Demarais told the Journal. "Meanwhile, Russia has found its own allies."