China’s support for Russia galvanises US, Europe as Washington examines once-unthinkable sanctions against Beijing

Within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China watched the United States and its allies thrash Moscow’s economy with astonishing speed, coordination and power. Now officials in Washington are looking ahead towards a once-unthinkable possibility: in a future moment of crisis, would those same economic weapons work against China too?

In the weeks since Washington unleashed the broadest sanctions in history against Russia, studies are already under way within US President Joe Biden’s administration to learn how similar economic tools might one day affect Beijing.