China and Russia: the bond tightens. According to reported rumors by the Bloomberg news agencyBeijing is considering buying or increasing its stakes in Russian energy and commodity companies. Starting with his gas majesty, Gazprom, and by the aluminum producer Rusal.
China and Russia: the giants of Beijing in the field
China would be negotiating through “its state-owned companies, including China National Petroleum, China Petrochemical, Aluminum of China e China Minmetals, about any investment opportunities in Russian companies or businesses,” writes Bloomberg. None of the large Chinese public companies potentially involved in these deals has agreed to comment on the rumors.
“It is no way to support the war in Ukraine”
"The talks would be at an early stage and it is not certain that they will go through”, the agency specifies, quoting an anonymous source. These eventual agreements, according to the same source, should not be interpreted as "a way of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine", but simply as a strategic move in economic terms. With these operations, in fact, Beijing could strengthen Chinese imports from Russia, improving its supplies of energy and raw materials.
China and Russia: Beijing wants to secure its imports
Regardless of how these talks play out, Russia's war in Ukraine has clearly prompted Beijing to move to secure the imports its economy needs most, as the cost of energy, metals (it recently did stir the case of nickel) and some food has already risen to unprecedented heights. Concerned about the impact rising prices will have on the economy, top Chinese government officials have therefore issued orders to prioritize the security of supply of raw materials.
