Growing tensions with Russia and China are worrying Belgian exporters, with geopolitical tensions now the number one concern in the eyes of these companies, L’Echo reports on Thursday.
Credit insurer Credendo warns that growing tensions are now dominating international relations between Belgium and other European countries and the east, especially Russia and China.
With Russia already under sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, China has significantly increased its imports of Russian natural resources. This means that China now runs the risk of falling under secondary Western sanctions. While European markets have largely adapted to a drop in Russian imports, European companies remain massively dependent on trade with China.
A potential trigger for the disruption of European trade with China would be an invasion scenario of Taiwan. Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s, China has claimed Taiwan as its core territory. De facto, democratic Taiwan is politically independent from mainland China. China has vowed to take back Taiwan, even with force.
“Countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or India are very assertive and will continue to be as we shift to a new multipolar world order. These countries risk exposing themselves also to sanctions if they seek to circumvent sanctions against Russia,” said Pascaline della Faille, risk manager at Credendo.
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While Belgium has massively slashed exports to Russia, Belgian companies are unwilling to completely abide by commitments to stop imports from Russia. Despite Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Belgium has largely failed to reduce its value and volume of trade with Russia.
In 2022, the value of imported goods from Russia to Belgium jumped by 64.7% to $13.6 billion, just 5% less than forecasts made by The Brussels Times in November.
