China is buying Russian oil at a significant discount. Since such a huge portion of the cost of goods is embodied energy, this gives them a huge advantage.
Google translate from russian shows: Free mouse only in mouse. Perhaps someone could kindly offer a non-marsupial translation?
Cheese is free only in mousetrap.
What a great saying. Gonna remember this.
or "there is no free lunch" but I like the Russian one better. It's really fascinating to see the differences in how two cultures express essentially the same idea.
Yes, but what will China do with the goods it manufactures? If they have the internal demand to consume them, that's good. If their plan is to sell exports to Western nations then they need to be strategic. TFA is about sanctions being extended to Chinese firms that invest in Russian energy firms, but one could imagine a spiral where the sanctions expand to other Chinese firms that produce manufactured goods ("embodied energy") as well. We're not there yet, but it is a possibility.
It will raise the cost of goods to the point which will be forced upon the consumer which will not be able to afford it. Already unemployment is rising rapidly in China as is inflation, when Chinese people find they can no longer afford a roof or basic foods, they will have nothing to lose.