China Risks Missing Economic Growth Target by Supporting Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping walk as they attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on June 14, 2019. Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

Beijing has a number of options to offset the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow, but none are big enough to save Russia, and all would decrease China’s chances of hitting its 5.5 percent growth target, which is already the lowest in decades.