Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Ukraine crisis: Could sanctions push Russia closer to China? | DW News" video.

Closer trade ties will make Russia subservient to China. It's not exactly a relationship of equals. China has one of the biggest economies in the world, while Russia's economy is about the size of Italy's. Unlike the EU, China has no qualms about strong-arming its smaller trade partners. Australia is a case in point.
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@yvonnetomenga5726 Right, NATO is a defensive alliance. If any or all of the Baltic states invade Russia, NATO's famous Article 5 cannot be invoked. They'd be all alone. Russia is a like a home invader that calls for gun control, because armed home owners mean it can't go about its business.
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@Ilamarea I wouldn't go as far as claiming that a prosperous Ukraine would control Russia, but it would force ordinary Russians to rethink if they agree with Putin's vision for Russia. A colour revolution wouldn't be far off.
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@Ilamarea Per definition, revolutions aren't controlled. The Russian people will eventually put in a new government. Ukraine might take credit for it, but it's reduced to cheering on from the side lines, just like the conspiracy theorists' favourites, the CIA, MI6, etc.
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China sure likes weapons technology transfers from Russia. Russia has little choice in the matter. More often than not, China will forego licensing formalities and just copy.
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@silafaupaulmeredith7251 You're behind the times, I'm afraid. Russian space tech lags behind that of the USA, Europe, China and now even India. Russia has been milking its Soviet-era rocket tech for all it's worth, but they know it's game over. Of late, Russia's space program has been busy with publicity stunts and trying to catch Elon Musk's attention, but technological advances are few and far between.
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@MWENDA-vv5im You're just as silly as the Brexiteers. They convinced themselves that the EU would suffer more from trade disruptions because the EU exports more to the UK than the other way around. That may be true, but the silly Brexiteers didn't factor in size. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that as a trade behemoth, the EU can absorb far more punishment than the UK. In Russia's and China's case, the size difference is even bigger. If Russia ever gets into a trade spat with China, it's like a featherweight finding himself in the same ring with a heavyweight. Keep telling yourself that "Russia will be fine."
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@MWENDA-vv5im No, Russia wouldn't get itself into a trade war with China. China, on the other hand, may very well decide otherwise. Beijing may feel like punishing Russia when they sense a lack of cooperation or when Russia aggrieves them. I already hinted at China having placed tariffs on Australian imports when Australia pushed for a more thorough investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, but that apparently didn't register with you. Trade wars a Western thing? And you profess to know about economics? I just explained how China dragged Australia into a trade war. And you sound like Karl Marx when he suggested that Communists would always be the best of friends and would never threaten one another militarily. The Sino-Soviet split must've made Marx turn in his grave. Sure, China has a gas deal with Russia. It's a very lopsided one, too. Win-lose is a good description for it.
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@MWENDA-vv5im You said it yourself, cheap natural gas. Russia would get a better price from Europe. So yeah, China is already benefiting at Russia's expense.
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@MWENDA-vv5im Duh. Sure enough, Russian gas is cheaper to China than to Europe. China negotiated a very good deal with Russia -- a very good one to China. Aren't you aware that China isn't buying Russia's gas at market prices, but at a price that they agreed separately with China? Just like you, Putin has no business sense. A good business leader tries to maximise profits. Putin is literally stealing money from the Russians' pockets.
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