Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US Intelligence Finding Shows China Surging Equipment Sales to Russia to Help War Effort in Ukraine
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 9 months ago on
April 12, 2024

US assessment reveals China's increased sales of technology to Russia, indirectly supporting the war effort in Ukraine. (AP/Li Xueren/Xinhua)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment.

Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sensitive findings Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that in 2023 about 90% of Russia’s microelectronics came from China, which Russia has used to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. Nearly 70% of Russia’s approximately $900 million in machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China.

Chinese and Russian entities have also been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia, and Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with nitrocellulose needed to make propellants weapons, the officials said.

China’s Assistance in Russia’s Space Capabilities

Beijing is also working with Russia to improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, a development the officials say could in the longer term increase the threat Russia poses across Europe. The officials, citing downgraded intelligence findings, said the U.S. has also determined that China is providing imagery to Russia for its war on Ukraine.

China’s Diplomatic Support for Russia

The officials discussed the findings as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks. President Joe Biden has previously raised his concerns directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Beijing indirectly supporting Russia’s war effort.

While China has not provided direct lethal military support for Russia, it has backed it diplomatically in blaming the West for provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the war and refrained from calling it an invasion in deference to the Kremlin.

China has also said it isn’t providing Russia with arms or military assistance, although it has maintained robust economic connections with Moscow, alongside India and other countries, amid sanctions from Washington and its allies.

Xi met in Beijing on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who heaped praise on Xi’s leadership.

Russia’s growing economic and diplomatic isolation has made it increasingly reliant on China, its former rival for leadership of the Communist bloc during the Cold War.

US Warnings to China

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who returned to Washington this week from a visit to Beijing, said she warned Chinese officials that the Biden administration was prepared to sanction Chinese banks, companies and Beijing’s leadership, if they assist Russia’s armed forces with its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The Democratic president issued an executive order in December giving Yellen the authority to sanction financial institutions that aided Russia’s military-industrial complex.

“We continue to be concerned about the role that any firms, including those in the PRC, are playing in Russia’s military procurement,” Yellen told reporters, using the initials for the Peoples Republic of China. “I stressed that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia’s war and that they will face significant consequences if they do. And I reinforced that any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia’s defense industrial base expose themselves to the risk of U.S. sanctions.”

China’s Sanctions Against US Defense Companies

Meanwhile, China on Thursday announced rare sanctions against two U.S. defense companies over what it called their support for arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary.

The announcement freezes the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China. It also bars the companies’ management from entering the country.

Filings show General Dynamics operates a half-dozen Gulfstream and jet aviation services operations in China, which remains heavily reliant on foreign aerospace technology even as it attempts to build its own presence in the field.

The company also helps make the Abrams tank being purchased by Taiwan to replace outdated armor intended to deter or resist an invasion from China.

General Atomics produces the Predator and Reaper drones used by the U.S. military.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Myles Turner Hits Late 3-Pointer, Scores 23 as Pacers Beat Warriors

DON'T MISS

What Is Israel’s US Funded Plan for the Middle East?

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark Honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year

DON'T MISS

Rams Don’t Dominate, but They’re Mastered Winning Ugly

DON'T MISS

What Goes on at Fresno County School Board Meetings? It’s Hard to Tell

DON'T MISS

Elaborate Holiday Light Displays Are Making Spirits Bright in a Big Way

DON'T MISS

Bethlehem Marks a Second Subdued Christmas During the War in Gaza

DON'T MISS

The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Heads for Its Close-Up With the Sun

DON'T MISS

Survey: Small Businesses Are Feeling More Optimistic About the Economy After the Election

DON'T MISS

Heavy Travel Day off to a Rough Start After American Airlines Briefly Grounds All Flights

UP NEXT

What Is Israel’s US Funded Plan for the Middle East?

UP NEXT

Caitlin Clark Honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year

UP NEXT

Rams Don’t Dominate, but They’re Mastered Winning Ugly

UP NEXT

What Goes on at Fresno County School Board Meetings? It’s Hard to Tell

UP NEXT

Elaborate Holiday Light Displays Are Making Spirits Bright in a Big Way

UP NEXT

Bethlehem Marks a Second Subdued Christmas During the War in Gaza

UP NEXT

The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Heads for Its Close-Up With the Sun

UP NEXT

Survey: Small Businesses Are Feeling More Optimistic About the Economy After the Election

UP NEXT

Heavy Travel Day off to a Rough Start After American Airlines Briefly Grounds All Flights

UP NEXT

Global Monitor Says Famine Is Weeks Away in North Gaza. A US Diplomat Calls Warning ‘Irresponsible’

Rams Don’t Dominate, but They’re Mastered Winning Ugly

53 minutes ago

What Goes on at Fresno County School Board Meetings? It’s Hard to Tell

1 hour ago

Elaborate Holiday Light Displays Are Making Spirits Bright in a Big Way

1 hour ago

Bethlehem Marks a Second Subdued Christmas During the War in Gaza

2 hours ago

The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Heads for Its Close-Up With the Sun

2 hours ago

Survey: Small Businesses Are Feeling More Optimistic About the Economy After the Election

2 hours ago

Heavy Travel Day off to a Rough Start After American Airlines Briefly Grounds All Flights

2 hours ago

Global Monitor Says Famine Is Weeks Away in North Gaza. A US Diplomat Calls Warning ‘Irresponsible’

2 hours ago

California Residents on Edge as High Surf and Flooding Threats Persist on Christmas Eve

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Holds Near Breakeven Ahead of Christmas

2 hours ago

Myles Turner Hits Late 3-Pointer, Scores 23 as Pacers Beat Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO — Myles Turner made a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 16 seconds left and had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Pascal Siakam ...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

Myles Turner Hits Late 3-Pointer, Scores 23 as Pacers Beat Warriors

Economist Jeffrey Sachs warns of potential US-Iran war in an interview with Tucker Carlson (pictured), citing decades of Israeli-influenced foreign policy in the Middle East. (Shutterstock)
15 minutes ago

What Is Israel’s US Funded Plan for the Middle East?

48 minutes ago

Caitlin Clark Honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year

Rams
53 minutes ago

Rams Don’t Dominate, but They’re Mastered Winning Ugly

1 hour ago

What Goes on at Fresno County School Board Meetings? It’s Hard to Tell

1 hour ago

Elaborate Holiday Light Displays Are Making Spirits Bright in a Big Way

2 hours ago

Bethlehem Marks a Second Subdued Christmas During the War in Gaza

An undated photo provided by NASA/Naval Research Laboratory/Parker Solar Probe shows an unprocessed image from the WISPR instrument of the comet NEOWISE on July 5, 2020, shortly after its closest approach to the sun. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab/Parker Solar Probe/Brendan Gallagher via The New York Times)
2 hours ago

The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Heads for Its Close-Up With the Sun

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend