JRL NEWSWATCH: “Asia’s commercial heft helps keep Russia’s war economy going; That holds future lessons for America” – The Economist
“… [M]ore than three dozen countries … slapped economic sanctions on Russia … unprecedented in … scope for a target of its size, covering energy and other commodities, finance, technology, travel, shipping and more … to raise the cost … of continuing the war [in Ukraine]. … China … has done the most to undermine the West’s sanctions. Trade between Russia and China jumped … 29% in 2022 and probably by more [in 2023]. China and Hong Kong are now Russia’s chief suppliers of microchips, frustrating Western efforts to starve Russia of … integrated circuits essential to the war effort. China has also swiftly become the top supplier to Russia of cars and smartphones. Chinese support is far from the only factor …. Russian military enterprises [reportedly] are getting hold of sophisticated machine tools from Taiwan … [with] middlemen in Turkey and elsewhere … sourcing what Russia needs. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are key conduits for shady ‘parallel imports’ into Russia [with booming Russian trade]. …”