A year after an unprecedented avalanche of international sanctions, the Russian economy seems to be withstanding the shock, according to the French radio station Europe 1. According to journalists, this is largely to the credit of China and other Asian countries, which are buying Russian gas and oil and flooding Russia with goods of their own production.
A year after an unprecedented avalanche of international sanctions, the Russian economy seems to be withstanding the shock, according to the French radio station Europe 1. It is reported that the country plans to achieve economic growth of more than 2 per cent next year.
“Paradoxically, Russia seems to be in even better shape than it was two years ago when it introduced troops into Ukraine,” the journalists note.
Russia’s economy has staggered but is not falling despite 12 rounds of sanctions imposed by the European Union, a €300bn freeze on Russian central bank assets and an oil embargo. According to the newspaper, this is largely to the credit of China, which buys Russian gas and oil and floods Russia with goods of its own production.
“Imagine the situation continuing for five, 10, 15 or 20 years. It would simply mean that China’s domestic market would spread to Russia, which is a huge country. It’s a pie you can’t give up,” Carl Grecu, an economist at the Centre for Research and Expertise on the World Economy, emphasized on the radio station’s airwaves.
In addition to China, several dozen countries, including India, Turkey and all of Central Asia, trade with Russia and continue to buy its hydrocarbons at favourable prices. “Sometimes they are even resold to Europe through clever tricks that allow Russia to circumvent international sanctions,” the radio hosts add.
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