China is studying Russia's sanctions evasion to prepare for Taiwan conflict

Officials report back to Beijing with lessons it can use in the event of war and Western penalties

- Georgi Kantchev & Lingling Wei

China has been supporting Russia's economy since the start of the Ukraine war by buying its oil while supplying it with everything from microelectronics to washing machines.

Meanwhile, Beijing has been getting its own strategic benefit: a real-world case study in how to circumvent Western sanctions.

An interagency group, set up by China in the months following the full-scale invasion, has studied the impact of sanctions and produced reports regularly for the country's leadership, according to people familiar with the matter.

The goal is to draw lessons about how to mitigate them, particularly in case a conflict over Taiwan prompts the U.S. and its allies to impose similar penalties on China, the people said.

As part of the effort, Chinese officials periodically visit Moscow to meet with the Russian Central Bank, the Finance Ministry and other agencies involved in countering sanctions, the people said.

The Chinese study effort, which hasn't previously been reported, is emblematic of the new age of economic warfare unleashed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where the lines between economic policy and geopolitical strategy are increasingly blurred.

That trend is only likely to be amplified by Donald Trump's second presidential term, where he plans to turbocharge the use of tariffs as a tool for negotiation and coercion.

Russia's economy has been surprisingly resilient throughout the Ukraine war, but it has shown fresh signs of cracking under Western pressure recently.

In the past week, the Russian ruble plunged to its lowest point since the early days of the conflict after the U.S. imposed new banking sanctions.

Moscow owes much of its economic durability to its oil exports and its cooperation with Beijing, as the leaders of both countries seek to challenge the U.S.-led world order.