Dusseldorf According to consistent media reports from the USA, Russia is said to have asked China for military support in the war against Ukraine. In order to limit the effects of the sanctions, Moscow is said to have requested economic aid. Russia and China have denied the reports. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spoke of disinformation from the United States.

From the point of view of the China expert Sebastian Heilmann, the USA is trying to drive a wedge between China and Russia. But that’s completely out of the question at the moment: “Only if the war continues to escalate do I think it’s possible that China will drop Russia at some point – in favor of essential economic relations with the West,” says the professor of China’s politics and economy at the University of Trier in the new episode of Handelsblatt Today.

Sebastian Heilmann: “Excluding China would lead to a depression in the short term”

So far, China has tried to remain neutral on the Ukraine issue. But if the allegations prove true, Beijing would also have to adapt to US sanctions. The US government has repeatedly warned China not to support Russia in the war against Ukraine. Most recently this Monday when National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese foreign policy official Yang Jiechi met in Rome.

According to Heilmann, sanctions against China would have a massive impact on the global economy: “In the short term, excluding China from the western economy would definitely lead to a depression,” he says.

However, it is still unclear how long Beijing will stick to its current policy. Because the two most important goals of China, a short and quick war in Ukraine and a strike against the US-led alliances, both have not been achieved, explains Heilmann. And: “If Putin hits a wall in Ukraine or suddenly faces domestic political opponents, then he quickly loses his usefulness for China.”

Irrespective of the outcome of the Ukraine war, Heilmann calls on Europe to reduce its economic dependency on China. “Otherwise we’ll be bare at some point.”

More: Ukraine war and corona fears cause Chinese shares to fall

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