During an interview with the “Pod Save the World” podcast released on Wednesday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo stated that “one of the things that China has made very clear is that they believe deeply in respecting sovereignty, believe in a bunch of the principles that Russia’s actually violating.”
Adeyemo said [relevant remarks begin around 1:08:30] that China has “done far less than people expected” to help Russia fill the gaps created by U.S. export controls “because Chinese firms and individuals are worried about being sanctioned and having export controls put on them. The way we think about this is, ultimately, Russia’s economy is about a $1.5 trillion economy. The combined economies of the countries that have put in place this regime is about 50% of the global economy. So, the thing we’re trying to do for companies and individuals in China…in the UAE, and in countries around Russia is to make very clear to them that you face the risk, if you do things that provide material support to Russia, of losing access to a far larger market. And we think that’s the thing that has, so far, prevented from people from taking these actions that could further build up Russia’s military industrialized complex.”
He added, “They have a choice to make, they can support Russia — which is a small economy that’s getting smaller because of our actions — or you can continue to have access to doing business with companies and individuals in countries that represent 50% of the global economy. For most firms and most individuals, it’s a clear, logical choice, even if your government’s creating a permissive structure for you to do it.”
Adeyemo further stated that “if a country, an individual, or a company provides material support to China, we’re going to hold them accountable. And it’s not just the United States and I think this is what matters to a number of countries, it’s also the European Union, where a country like China has significant economic relationships. We’re all committed within the G7, plus the European Union, to taking actions to hold you accountable. I think that’s partially why you haven’t seen a lot of the wholesale — not only in places like China, but in other countries around the world, of provision of material support to Russia, in addition to the fact that, as you know, one of the things that China has made very clear is that they believe deeply in respecting sovereignty, believe in a bunch of the principles that Russia’s actually violating. And while I think that the principles they’ve put out around a peace settlement don’t reflect the views of Ukraine because they haven’t spoken to Ukraine in a real way, I think that, ultimately, it’s not in China’s self-interest to be seen as supporting Russia in a material way.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
