Reuters reveals China’s Sinopec pauses Russia projects, Beijing wary of sanctions

Reuters revealed China’s state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine. The move by Asia’s biggest oil refiner to hit the brakes on a potentially half-billion-dollar investment in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China highlights the risks, even to Russia’s most important diplomatic partner, of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions.