New Metals Sanctions Push Russia Further Into China's Embrace
- Shanghai becomes the only major bourse to accept Russian metal
- Ukraine war has cemented Russia as China’s top energy supplier
China has long sought greater pricing power over global commodities given its hefty reliance on imports.
Photographer: He Huawen/VCG/Getty Images
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US and UK sanctions on Russian metals will cement China as Moscow’s buyer of last resort for key commodities, and enhance Shanghai’s role as a venue to set prices for materials crucial to the global economy.
The London Metal Exchange’s ban on newly produced Russian aluminum, copper and nickel is likely to drive Chinese imports even higher. It also leaves the Shanghai Futures Exchange as the only major commodities bourse in the world to accept Russian shipments of the three metals.