Chinese Companies Are Not Willing to Leave Russia

Companies from Europe and America are rapidly leaving the Russian Federation after it invaded Ukraine. Nevertheless, Chinese companies are not willing to leave the local market. Leaders of Western countries denounced and sanctioned Russia and the country’s leader Vladimir Putin. Russia’s ally China refused to call the attack an invasion.

On Tuesday, Apple stopped selling products in the country. The company also removed Russian state-backed media outlets RT News and Sputnik News from around the world except for Russia. Google removed both news outlets from its PlayStore in Europe as well.

Nike also made an interesting decision. It made online purchases of its goods unavailable in Russia saying it can’t guarantee delivery of goods in the country. In the meantime, major movie studios including Disney and Warner Bros. halted theatrical releases of upcoming films in the country.

Besides, Mastercard and Visa blocked Russian financial institutions from their payments networks.

Chinese companies and politics 

China and Russia are close allies. So, it is not surprising that Chinese companies are not willing to leave Russia. 

In December, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a call with Vladimir Putin. Russia’s longtime leader called Xi his “dear friend” and said relations between the two countries reached an “unprecedentedly high level”. 

Russia’s ally hasn’t reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with condemnation and sanctions like Western countries. Moreover, authorities avoided calling the attack an invasion and instead deflected blame for it onto the U.S. 

Many companies from the West voiced their position regarding the war and reduced business in the country. Nevertheless, Chinese companies remained silent. They don’t want to anger the government of China by taking a political stance. 

However, TikTok made the decision to restrict access to Russian state-controlled sites RT and Sputnik in the European Union.