China is supposedly studying Russia's ability to dodge Western sanctions ahead of a theoretical invasion of Taiwan. However, Representative Cory Mills (R-FL) suggested in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Big Money Show that it was nothing more than "saber-rattling," both because of differing economic circumstances between China and Russia and because President-elect Donald Trump is returning to the White House in January.
The Wall Street Journal noted that Beijing's studying of Russia's sanctions dodging does not mean they will invade Taiwan, but instead is "preparing for the "extreme scenario" of an armed conflict and its economic repercussions."
One angle China is seeking is to diversify stockpiles through assets not using the U.S. Dollar, a tactic Russia has used to keep its economy relatively stable despite the imposition of sanctions by the West.
As a result, Rep. Mills said in his Big Money Show appearance that "sanctions can be effective when they have teeth and they are enforceable. A lot of times, the sanctions that America puts in place do not actually have the ability to enforce anything."
However, he also noted, "Russia's economics are very different than China's, especially when we went to China as a preferred vendor, and so I do not think that they can necessarily take the same model."
"And I think that they are kind of [doing] a little bit kind of saber-rattling right now because they understand that President Trump is going to do very similar things to the China Phase One deal when he was in office that helped our agricultural sector," Rep. Mills continued.
The Florida Congressman referred to the 2020 Phase One trade deal, which was hammered out amidst a trade war between the United States and China when President Trump imposed duties and tariffs on Chinese imports.
As a result, Mills seemed to suggest that China's "idea that they are going to somehow mimic Russia, knowing that a large majority of their economics actually comes out of the United States and would not cover their 1.4 billion people who are sitting there with regards to [Gross Domestic Product (GDP)]," was doomed to fail.
The incoming Trump Administration made headlines last week when they threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada for the ongoing border crisis, with Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum ultimately agreeing to stop the flow of migrants in a meeting with President-elect Trump.
