China has ramped up support for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine by sending rifle scopes, tank components, rocket fuel and satellite images to Russia, US officials have said.
Their warning came on the eve of a two-day mission to China by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the Ukraine war.
US officials told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, briefed European allies this week on China’s increased support for Russia.
They also said that China was sending microelectronics, propellants used in missile production and turbojet engines to Russia, sidestepping Western sanctions.
Vladimir Putin has courted China heavily since his invasion but Beijing has appeared reluctant to be seen propping up his military. Now, with Russia taking ground in eastern Ukraine, that appears to have changed.
Russia is outgunning Ukrainian forces across the front lines because the West has struggled to supply promised ammunition. By contrast, the Kremlin has switched consumer-based factories to arms manufacturing and signed deals with Iran and North Korea for supplies of drones and artillery shells.
topofthecc on April 8th, 2024 at 00:10 UTC »
Ironic that Cold War 2 may feature Russia as one of the proxy states
Strongbow85 on April 7th, 2024 at 22:37 UTC »
Submission Statement: US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, briefed European allies this week about China's increased support for Russia in the form of rifle scopes, tank components, rocket fuel and satellite imagery. China is also supplying Moscow with microelectronics, propellants used in production and turbojet engines in violation of Western sanctions. China had been reluctant to provide Russia military components despite heavy courting by Vladimir Putin out of concern for US secondary sanctions. Analysts believe China may have moved to a policy where it discreetly supports the Kremlin’s efforts in Ukraine since Beijing now views Russia as having the momentum. China is Russia’s largest gas client and the Russian Central Bank now stores the majority of its international reserves in yuan.