Kommersant: US fails to persuade China to abandon cooperation with Russia
A conversation between Presidents Joe Biden of the United States and Xi Jinping of China was the main international event last week. The leaders of the two superpowers seem to have failed to reach an understanding. On the contrary, the talks increased alienation. Biden warned that China could face damage if it moved to help Russia mitigate the impact of Western sanctions. Having rejected Washington’s demands, Beijing seeks to avoid US sanctions and at the same time, become the chief beneficiary of the global economic war, Kommersant writes.
"Beijing and Washington focused on different things in terms of talks between the US and Chinese leaders. For China, the conversation was primarily about the need for the United States to refrain from interfering in the Taiwan issue and using the policy of sanctions against other countries," Director of Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Studies Alexey Maslov explained.
When asked what extreme measures Washington could take, the expert said: "The US can cancel its foregin debts by declaring a default on incoming and outgoing dollar payments, while the Federal Reserve System can also change the design of dollar bills, freezing dollar accounts in other banks and refusing to accept them. As a softer option, the US could refuse to accept such payments from Russia or China, which would lead to a partial or total ‘economic apocalypse.’ However, China will start dumping its debt at the first sign of such negative actions, which will cause great panic on markets, and will also refuse to issue dollar loans," Maslov added.
According to the expert, even the attractive US market would not be able to offset the national humiliation. that China would face if it is forced to make concessions under US pressure. Moreover, China is making it clear that the conflict around Ukraine is not just a problem between Moscow and Kiev but an issue concerning the collapse of the global system, which needs to be addressed urgently.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Sanctions war reaches economic limits
The sanctions war against Russia has significant economic limits. Kiev has not declared a war on Moscow and maintains Russian gas transit. Major German businesses have warned against halting the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline and rushing into more sanctions. Any new restrictions may accelerate the global recession, Nezavisiamaya Gazeta writes.
Chairman of the German Federation of Trade Unions Reiner Hoffmann stated that the crisis around Ukraine posed a danger to the whole world. Global food prices may rise by 8-22%, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned, stressing that Russia and Ukraine were among major global food producers. In addition, Russia is the largest exporter of nitrogen fertilizers and the second largest supplier of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers.
In the meantime, Kiev has so far refrained from declaring a war on Russia, though maintaining martial law in the country, Head of Moscow State University’s Department of World Politics Andrey Sidorov emphasized. The current status makes it possible for Ukraine to maintain the Russian gas transit that it would have had to stop had a war been declared. "Gas continues to be pumped to Europe because no one in Kiev wants to quarrel with a freezing Austria, Germany and Hungary. Besides, Kiev also needs Russian gas. It doesn’t buy gas directly from Gazprom, though, but from EU countries at market prices. Kiev clearly counts on Russia’s payment for gas transit. If transit stops, there will be no money," Sidorov explained.
Europe, too, is in no hurry to abandon Russian hydrocarbons. However, it seems that EU officials aren’t calculating the economic consequences of sanctions on Russia that Europe will face, BCS Chief Investment Strategist Maxim Shein pointed out. "That said, sanctions may be tightened further to reach the unthinkable," the analyst noted. Meanwhile, Europe’s population will start to really suffer the effects of sanctions as the fall season rolls in, Shein added.
Sooner or later, the time will come to agree on the rules of conflict-free coexistence in the Euro-Atlantic region, Russian Envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich said in an interview with Izvestia.
"It is currently impossible to continue talks on the issue given how radically the situation has changed," he noted. "It is another thing that sooner or later, the time will come to agree on new options for conflict-free coexistence in the Euro-Atlantic region," the envoy added. However, according to Lukashevich, it is hard to say at the moment when and how it will happen.
"Russia will use all multilateral platforms to prove its point in every possible way," the Russian diplomat stressed. He also said that attempts were being made to talk to Moscow on behalf of a group of NATO or EU countries on the OSCE platform rather than in a national capacity. "The rules of procedure in our organization say that all countries take part in the OSCE as sovereign and independent states in full equality. However, if you look closer, there is little sovereignty left as it has been wiped out by the Euro-Atlantic steamroller," the envoy added.
After February 24, Western representatives have been reluctant to hold a serious dialogue with Russia. "Emotions are a very bad advisor. How can anyone work in a situation where no one wants to listen to you? Many times over the past weeks, the so-called collective West walked out in droves, which is impossible to imagine on other international platforms," Lukashevich noted.
However, there are countries that continue to work despite such "theatrical shows," the diplomat went on to say. "Apart from Belarus, these include our partners and allies from the South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as a number of European countries. We appreciate their willingness to work within the OSCE even in the most difficult circumstances," the Russian envoy emphasized.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Tokyo proves itself as Washington’s steadfast ally
A meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida took place in New Delhi. The visiting party from Tokyo called on India to condemn Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, offering an "incentive" in the form of Japanese investment to the tune of $42 bln over the next five years. However, the bribe didn’t work. The two countries’ joint statement emphasized the need for a ceasefire but did not mention Russia directly. Still, it doesn’t mean that Tokyo will no longer take part in a campaign of political and economic pressure on Moscow. Japan has imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs, frozen Russian bank assets and revoked Russia’s most favored nation trading status, Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes.
Head of the Center for Japanese Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Oriental Studies Valery Kistanov pointed out that "Japan has been unconditionally taking the lead from the Americans." "In this regard, it is no different from other G7 members. In particular, Tokyo imposed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Attempts are being made to turn the population against Russia," he specified.
"Japan is also reconsidering its position on other tracks. For instance, the country has never sent weapons to parties to the military conflict but as for Ukraine, Japan did provide the country with helmets, body armor and winter military protective attire. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is expected to address Japan’s parliament," the analyst noted.
"It appears to stem from Japan’s bitter disappointment in the peace treaty talks with Russia, which have been stalled. [Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe looked forward to achieving progress and getting the disputed islands but it didn’t pan out. So Kishida has made some conclusions. What conclusions? It is clear at least from the fact that Japanese cities are severing sister city ties with Russian ones. However, despite its anti-Russian sentiment, Japan has not abandoned Russian energy imports. Unlike Western firms, Japanese companies haven’t withdrawn from projects on Sakhalin Island and in the Arctic," Kistanov said.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian banks see rise in demand for UnionPay credit cards
After payment systems and services such as Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and Google Pay suspended operations in Russia, the country’s banks started recording a rise in demand for UnionPay bank cards. The Chinese credit card system has been present on the Russian market for eight years now but it’s not widespread yet. About ten Russian banks currently issue UnionPay cards and more are considering the possibility of issuing cards co-badging Russia's domestic Mir payments system with UnionPay, Rossiyskaya Gazeta notes.
According to Senior Researcher with the Institute of Economic Affairs at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Kola Research Center Roman Badylevich, the demand for such credit cards will continue to grow as people are looking for an alternative to Visa and Mastercard and do not give hope to freely travel overseas.
However, there is no reason to rush to get such a credit card without any urgent need, said member of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets Tatyana Sakharova. "Visa and Mastercard cards continue to work in Russia, while ten counties, including Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia and Uzbekistan, accept Mir cards," the senator noted.
Head of the Department of World Economy and Foreign Economic Activity at Ural State University of Economics Oksana Falchenko emphasized that issuance and annual servicing fees for UnionPay cards had skyrocketed due to high demand. It is quite understandable because UnionPay currently holds a monopoly on the Russian payment system market in terms of payment systems that Russians may use in other countries. The expert expects the Chinese payment system to continue to develop further in Russia in collaboration with the Mir system as the two will complement each other.
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