I was assured that China's support of Russia knew no bounds.
[Fortune] When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted payments giants Visa and Mastercard to suspend services in the country, Moscow expected it could lean on the Chinese alternative, UnionPay, to plug the holes torn out of its domestic banking system. But that plan appears to have fallen flat, as UnionPay has reportedly decided not to expand its presence in the country, fearing it could become the next target of devastating sanctions.
UnionPay’s hesitance to enter the Russian market is the latest example of large Chinese companies growing wary of doing business in Russia, despite the fact that China has not officially joined Western leaders in piling sanctions on Russia.
China’s three major state-owned oil companies have reportedly been warned by Beijing to avoid making new investments in Russia, and last month, state-owned oil producer Sinopec suspended talks on a major joint venture in Russia with Sibur, the country’s largest petrochemical company.
Both the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, two of China’s largest lending banks, have also stopped offering clients finance options for purchases of Russian commodities, reports Bloomberg. |