Russia said on Sunday it was counting on China to help it defy the blow to its economy from Western sanctions, which it said have frozen nearly half of its gold and foreign exchange reserves.
"We keep part of our gold and foreign exchange reserves in Chinese yuan. We see how much pressure Western countries put on China to limit trade between the two countries. Of course there is pressure to limit access to these reserves," said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
The Russian minister added that the sanctions have frozen about $300 billion out of $640 billion in Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves.
"But I believe that our partnership with China will continue to allow us to preserve the cooperation that we have achieved, and we will not only maintain it, but also strengthen it in a climate where Western markets are closed" to Russia, he added.
Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russian companies and the financial system since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, in what Russia calls a special military operation.
Siluanov's comments, made in a television interview, indicate that Moscow has requested China's help to mitigate the effects of Western sanctions.
The two countries have recently strengthened their cooperation at a time when each of them has been subjected to strong Western pressures due to human rights and a number of other issues.
Siluanov said Russia would fulfill its government debt obligations and would pay in rubles to debt holders until the state's reserves were unfrozen.
For his part, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned China on Sunday against supporting Russia or violating sanctions imposed on Moscow and compensating for its losses due to its invasion of Ukraine.
"We are communicating with China to inform them that there will be significant consequences for violating sanctions against Russia," Sullivan added in an interview with CNN.
Trade accounted for about 46 percent of the Russian economy in 2020, mostly with China, Moscow's largest export destination.
Chinese puzzle
At a time when Beijing is trying to strengthen relations with Moscow, it is seeking not to publicly violate the sanctions, which could jeopardize its access to major Western export markets and the international financial system based on the US dollar, according to a previous report by Al-Jazeera Net.
According to media reports, Chinese state-owned financial institutions are distancing themselves from the beleaguered Russian economy, as some have stopped financing deals related to oil and Russian companies, while others have restricted financing purchases of Russian goods.
Analysts believe that Beijing may find it difficult to maintain its balance if Western sanctions against Russia intensify, and the current sanctions have largely avoided Moscow's lucrative energy industry due to fears of collateral damage to Western countries. Natural - about 40% of Europe's natural gas supplies.