Commentary Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the West’s response so far, has been a gift to China. The West’s strict sanctions on Russia have isolated the country from much of the world. It needs a financial lifeline. The war in Ukraine, and the West’s sanctions against Russia, is providing a unique opportunity for China to establish its currency in global trade and in turn destabilize the west. In other words, Beijing could now accomplish what it had wanted but was unable to achieve for years. Sanctioning Russia isn’t as simple as sanctioning Iran or North Korea. Russia is a major producer and exporter of commodities such as crude oil, gas, wheat, diamonds, and other minerals. Once upon a time, the value of paper money was derived from the commodities backing it. With the sanctions in place, the global commodities market is now fragmented. For example, we have non-Russian produced oil …