Thus, while the GCC states have largely supported UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, none have joined Western powers in implementing sanctions against Moscow or other policies aimed at squeezing Russia. His Chongqing model, however, was arguably the prototype for what Xi would soon unleash on the whole of China. It was at this time - during a trade war between China and the EU over textile quotas - that I got a rare invitation to interview the commerce minister. Such interviews with top Chinese officials were excruciatingly dull, but this was the opposite. irannews.ru/ - irannews.ru "He believes that in the world of hyper-competitive capitalism and a hyper-competitive arms race with the United States, the only plausible way that China can remain competitive is to remain under one party that happens to be called the Communist Party." This was unprecedented in the post-Mao era. So his ruinous legacy was covered up with reverence. And now, Xi loses no opportunity to channel Mao, even usurping his defunct titles - Great Helmsman, People's Leader, Chairman. But what he seeks is much bigger. "Those Russians said they were liberators, they just started robbing us!" says a tearful Fedir. He says they took his car, furniture and mattresses. Nearly every house on his street has been damaged. On a chilly winter morning in January 1990, I stepped off a night ferry onto a dockside in the city of Guangzhou. It was my first glimpse of China. The air smelled sulphurous from burning coal. Outside the streets were a river of bicycles, ridden by workers in blue caps and Mao jackets. Occasionally the bicycles parted for a wheezing bus or official car. The fall of one prince, and the rise of another Gadfly was mobilised in March and isn't a professional soldier. His country has the current momentum, but he thinks they can only fully force Russia out if the West continues with its military support.