Geo-Strategic Trend - 51. page

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said not long ago that he wants to mend relations with China. However, he described China’s position on Russia’s aggression into Ukraine as “ambiguous.” Zelensky said in a French media interview that he hopes China can help Ukraine, but he also said it would be “difficult,” at the moment, to arrange a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Zelensky also said that before Russia’s aggression against Ukraine seven months ago, there were ‘channels of communication” between Kyiv and Beijing. The two countries used to have “a lot of economic and trade cooperation.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week. Kuleba later tweeted that Wang Yi told him that China respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and opposes the use of force as a way to resolve differences between countries.

Source: CNA, September 24, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202209240220.aspx

BBC Chinese recently published a fact-check article looking into what the latest transportation data showed. China is buying more Russian oil, and India is ramping up imports from Russia as well. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been going on for more than half a year. Asian countries bought oil and gas from Russia at a discount as the West has imposed sanctions on Russia and plans gradually to to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian energy exports to the EU have fallen.  Never-the-less, the EU is still buying huge amounts of oil, more than a million barrels a day. However, EU member states have said that, starting in December, they will ban all oil shipped by sea and most Russian oil is transported by sea rather than through pipelines. India and China, however, have recently become big buyers, accounting for more than half of all seaborne oil exports from Russia. In March, China and India imported more oil from Russia than the 27 EU member states combined. Ocean shipping information showed that India’s import of Russian oil known as Urals and ESPO (Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean) showed sharp increases. Since March, China has also been buying a lot of Urals and ESPO. In early July, China reportedly bought a record amount for the second month in a row. By contrast, Japan has made it clear that it will phase out imports of Russian oil, while South Korea’s imports of Russian crude oil have also declined. While the price of Russian oil is attractive, India’s big refiners are facing difficulties in how to finance these purchases due to sanctions on Russian banks. One of the options India has is to trade in local currencies. Russia also asked India to pay in UAE currency. China’s state-owned oil companies are increasingly using Chinese Yuan instead of US. Dollars to buy oil from abroad. In July, Russia remained China’s largest oil supplier for three consecutive months.

Source: BBC Chinese, September 11, 2022
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-62834711

According to China’s official newspaper People’s Daily, the 2022 China-Latin America and the Caribbean Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation was recently held via video conferencing. More than 20 participant representatives from the science and technology authorities in Latin American and Caribbean countries participated online. During the forum, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the counterpart officials in Latin American countries signed memorandums of understanding on cooperation to accelerate the construction of sustainable food innovation centers. Participants expressed their willingness to continue to deepen the cooperation between Latin America and China in the fields of clean energy, digital technology, agricultural technology, and satellite communications.

The report mentioned the Sino-Bolivian satellite cooperation project and China’s Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine plant in Chile.

Source: People’s Daily, September 8, 2022
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2022-09/08/nw.D110000renmrb_20220908_4-03.htm

The popular Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily recently reported that, according to newly declassified U.S. intelligence, the Russian Defense Ministry has purchased millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, a move that shows that global sanctions have severely restricted Russian supply chains and forced Russia to turn to “excluded countries” for military supplies. According to British media, Russia only received the first batch of drones made in Iran very recently. Apparently, the U.S-led sanctions and export controls are hurting Russia’s ability to acquire military supplies. No details were provided about the North Korean deal on exact weapons, timing or size of the shipment. The transaction could not be independently verified at this time. Russia is expected to try to buy more North Korean arms in the future. North Korea has been seeking closer ties with Russia as European and Western countries have pulled out. North Korea even hinted at sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine. North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow recently met with envoys from Ukraine’s Donbas region, two Russian-backed separatist territories, and expressed optimism about cooperation in the “field of labor migration.” North Korea is the only country other than Russia and Syria to recognize the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Source: Oriental Daily, September 6, 2022
httpps://www.orientaldaily.com.my/news/international/2022/09/06/510520

The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported on Friday, September 2, that China will sell Russian LNG (liquid natural gas) to European countries at an inflated price. In practice, this represents an indirect violation of the European embargo.

According to Chinese customs data, in the first six months of 2022, China imported 2.35 million tons of fuel from Russia at a value of $2.16 billion.

The newspaper said Russian LNG exports to China via the Siberian pipeline have increased by 63 percent. .

The article added, “Experts stressed that the supply of LNG exceeds China’s domestic demand and that the Chinese government will sell LNG purchased from Russia to European countries that are coping with the energy crisis,” .

Source: Sputnik News (Russia), September 3, 2022
https://sputniknews.cn/20220903/1043653866.html