Economics
China’s Goal With Putin Is to Resist U.S. Without Economic Pain
- Covid lockdowns, market plunge add to pressures on Xi Jinping
- China has supported Russia while complying with U.S. sanctions
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China’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine is showing its limits as the domestic costs for President Xi Jinping start to outweigh the benefits of confronting the U.S.
Whether a trade war or a real one like in Ukraine, China has shown that it will try to prevent its geopolitical struggles with the U.S. from hurting the domestic economy. A rapidly worsening Covid situation and the need to maintain stability in a pivotal year for Xi make it less likely the Chinese leader would allow Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to blow back at home.