According to experts, the Russia-Ukraine war in Eastern Europe has exposed the ideological divisions over democracy and authoritarianism between the US and China, and they highlighted the difficulty of bringing the conflict to an end as well as the risks of a military confrontation over Taiwan. 

US-China competition is not just about great power rivalry but also the ideology, reported Asia Nikkei. 

This divide between US and China is further propelled by the stance of both the countries over the Taiwan issue. 

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan despite the separate two sides being governed separately for more than seven decades. 

Taipei continues to counter the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US. 

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also come as a surprise for China’s leadership which is assessing the costs and consequences of any future use of force to gain control over Taiwan. 

According to Policy Research Group, China’s independent refiners are discreetly buying Russian oil at highly discounted prices during the ongoing Ukraine war to avoid coming under the ambit of US sanctions. 

Additionally in March, Russia bought 9,950 metric tons of alumina from China, which is almost 10 times more than what Russia purchased in the same period a year earlier, POREG further reported, citing Chinese customs data. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities are also conducting a large-scale check of the stability of the Chinese economy amid concerns about sanctions over cooperation with Russia. 

Chinese companies are quietly assessing the risk of “secondary sanctions” if they keep supplying Russia with products that may involve US technologies. 

According to a CNN report, China is extending an olive branch to the US in a bid to prevent Chinese firms from being kicked off the US stock market as a fallout of the sanctions. 

Chinese experts argue that Beijing should strengthen the economic and trade cooperation with Russia, promoting enhanced cooperation between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. 

It is equally important for China to establish strategic communication with Russia and Ukraine in order to obtain information on the military forefront for the safety of Chinese citizens and to safeguard China’s the trade and security with the BRI countries.