News Analysis Beijing has a number of options to offset the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow, but none are big enough to save Russia, and all would decrease China’s chances of hitting its 5.5 percent growth target, which is already the lowest in decades. Just before the Ukraine invasion, Beijing and Moscow signed an agreement, reaffirming their friendship and expanding China’s gas purchases from Russia by about  $117.5 billion, while pledging to increase trade by at least $100 billion over the next few years. At that time, no one could have predicted the enormity of the coming sanctions. Neither could anyone have anticipated the tight, anti-Russia coalition that would form, with the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, NATO, Japan, and other allies all unifying to bring sanctions against Russia. In addition to the boycotts by banks and credit card companies, shippers, such as Maersk, are refusing to …