Russia Blocks Chinese Rail Cargo, Sparks Rumors of Sanction Avoidance
According to one analyst, the Russians and the Chinese seem to be performing a display for the global audience.
Recent Chinese media reports indicate that Russia has been holding Chinese railway cargo shipments on the China-Europe Railway Express since late October 2024, with thousands of containers detained.
Observers suggest that the situation is linked to Western sanctions on Russia and may have additional layers beyond what is immediately apparent.
Reportedly, over a thousand containers have been detained by Russian authorities.
Sun Kuo-hsiang, an international affairs and business professor at Nanhua University in Taiwan, highlighted the significance of the China-Europe Railway Express as a crucial trade route between China and Europe, particularly for high-value products like electronics, mechanical parts, and auto parts, in an interview with The Epoch Times on Jan. 29.
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Sun suggested that Russia may have seized cargo on the China-Europe Railway Express out of concerns that these goods could eventually make their way to Ukraine. He added that another motive behind this action could be to retaliate against the European Union’s sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine and to pressure China into refraining from cooperating with the West.
The European Union and the United States have imposed heightened sanctions on Russia amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict and have cautioned China against supplying military civil dual-use equipment to the Russians. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Chinese communist regime has been a primary supporter of Russia’s war efforts.
Bypassing International Sanctions?
Davy J. Wong, an economist based in the United States, noted that so far, there have been no reports of any European buyers confirming that their goods transported from China via the China-Europe Railway Express have been detained by Russia.
“Despite over a thousand containers being held for months, shipments continue via this route,” Wong told The Epoch Times on Jan. 29.
He stated that the detained goods primarily consist of military, civil dual-use materials, and some civilian materials with potential military applications.
Wong believes that China may be using this method to circumvent international sanctions on Russia. “It’s possible that these goods were bought by a shell company in Europe, sent to Russia, and then confiscated. This could be China’s way of providing military and civil dual-use products to Russia,” he said.
“In doing so, China can claim innocence by stating that it did not intend to supply dual-use products to Russia, shifting the blame to Russia for seizing the goods to avoid accountability for breaching international sanctions,” he explained.
“It appears evident that China and Russia are orchestrating a façade for the global community,” Wong concluded.
Luo Ya contributed to this report.
