Under President Xi Jinping, China has pushed for self-reliance in key areas of technology and the payments needed to settle trade to minimize its vulnerability to economic pressure over flashpoints, from trade policy to Taiwan.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the tough global response, including curtailment of access to the SWIFT payment system and a freezing of Russian assets, provide a case study for China on the economic and financial vulnerabilities analysts expect it will continue to address.
The unexpectedly heavy sanctions, led by the West, have exposed vulnerabilities for Russia — including dependence on the U.S dollar — that China would want to mitigate before becoming the target of any such measures.