U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed a 3-day visit to China amid growing Western frustration over increasing evidence of Chinese aid to Russia.
A day before his arrival, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson flatly denied China's role in the conflict and claimed a neutral stance.
On April 26, at the end of his 3-day visit to China, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed Western concerns over China’s aid to Russia and its role in the war in Ukraine.
"I reiterated our serious concern about the PRC providing components that are powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
He further noted: “China is the top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics, nitrocellulose, which is critical to making munitions and rocket propellants, and other dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp up its defense industrial base."
Ahead of Blinken’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin commented on the topic at the press conference on April 23, saying:
“On Ukraine, China’s position has been just and objective. We have worked actively to promote talks for peace and a political settlement. The government oversees the export of dual-use articles in accordance with the laws and regulations. China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it. We never fan the flames or seek selfish gains, and we will certainly not accept being the scapegoat.”
He added:
“The United States keeps making groundless accusations over the normal trade and economic exchanges between China and Russia, while passing a bill providing a large amount of aid for Ukraine. This is just hypocritical and highly irresponsible. China firmly rejects this.”
This is false.
First, there is significant evidence documenting how China has gone beyond “normal trade” to supply military equipment and components to Russia.
In April 2023, part of the Discord leak included U.S. signal intelligence of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) describing a deal with China that approved the “provision of lethal aid” to Russia.
The Washington Post reported this intelligence from SVR stated that China’s Central Military Commission had “approved the incremental provision” of weapons to Russia, but wanted it kept secret.
Recent declassified U.S. intelligence also showed that during 2023 alone, 90% of Russia’s microelectronics imports, needed to produce missiles, tanks and aircraft, had come from China.
Investigative journalists at The Wall Street Journal analyzed customs data, revealing significant exports of dual-use goods from China to Russia. The Russian customs records showed that despite U.S. sanctions on microchips, Russian imports of chips and chip components had almost hit a prewar monthly average by late 2022, and more than half had been imported from China.
The Wall Street Journal further reported that Chinese state-owned defense companies had shipped navigation equipment, jamming technology and fighter-jet parts to sanctioned Russian government-owned defense companies.
Similarly, Politico reported that Chinese customs data from 2023 showed Russia imported more than $100 million worth of drones from China, and Chinese exports of ceramics to Russia increased by 69% to more than $225 million.
Oryx, a Dutch-based open-source intelligence analysis organization, likewise published a list of foreign military equipment deliveries to Russia and found that several Shaanxi Baoji Tigers, a Chinese-produced infantry mobility vehicle, had been delivered to Russia in June 2023.
Besides intelligence reports and customs data, visual evidence of China’s military support has also emerged. Weapons with Chinese inscriptions or claiming to be “from China” appeared in a Russian Ministry of Defense sponsored recruitment video published last weekend.
Besides military aid, China’s support for the Russian economy has surged during the past two years, practically financing Russia’s war in Ukraine. China made Russia its number one crude oil supplier in 2023, despite Western sanctions. According to Reuters, Russia shipped a record 107.02 million metric tons of crude oil to China in 2023.
China’s financial and military support of Russia is not “fair and objective.” Even more, comments by Chinese officials have not been neutral either, including pledges of Chinese support.
Weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a pact pledging a “no limits” relationship.
China has continued this close relationship, neither speaking out after Russia’s invasion nor correcting its views on events from Russia’s perspective, according to the Associated Press.
In February 2024, the Russian government released a video of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun telling Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu that “China would stand with Russia on the Ukraine issue.”
Jun also proposed, in the video, that both militaries enhance strategic trust, expand practical cooperation and elevate their military-to-military relationship.
The West has tried to call on China as a partner in promoting negotiations to little success. Recently, China was invited to take part in the Switzerland Ukraine Peace Conference. China has only said it would “consider” taking part and it has said nothing regarding Russia’s refusal to participate despite their close relationship and supposed desire to promote peace.
Finally, China’s attempts to call U.S. aid to Ukraine an “escalation” fail to recognize that Ukraine was invaded by Russia and is entitled to its self-defense.
It is also worth noting that the U.S. has warned Ukraine against using U.S. or NATO weapons in any attack within Russia.
China has not made any such provisions or ground rules with Russia.
