China should learn from Russia’s struggles with U.S. sanctions and take preemptive steps to strengthen its self-sufficiency in grain and energy, researchers at a government think tank said, while making its industrial chains more resilient through regional partnerships and diversification.

“Decoupling, disruption and suffocation of industrial chains are likely to become the norm in future great-power rivalries,” warned Zhang Qizai, deputy director of the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. . Zhang and fellow researcher Chen Hanxue published their findings in the latest issue of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies, an academic journal.

They urged China to prepare for risks by taking inspiration from Russia, whose industrial chains “have shown strong resilience in the face of extreme sanctions” since the start of the war in Ukraine.

“China needs to further strengthen the stability and security of supply of key industries such as food, energy and minerals,” the academics said, calling such a move essential for industrial resilience as well as for the functioning of the national economy.