The US accused China of military assistance to Russia and called on the EU to strengthen sanctions

The United States has accused China of supplying engines for cruise missiles and drones, as well as equipment for ballistic missiles to Russia. Washington is calling on Brussels to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Beijing to cut off supplies. The Financial Times reports this with reference to senior American officials.

According to the publication’s interlocutors, in 2023, 90% of chips imported to Russia for the production of tanks, missiles and aircraft came from China. They said that several Chinese companies, including Wuhan Global Sensor Technology, Wuhan Tongsheng Technology and Hikvision, supplied optical components for Russian tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons. Among other things, Washington accused one of the largest Chinese companies in this field, Dalian Machine Tool Group, of supplying equipment to Russia.

Also, Chinese enterprises probably supply Russia with nitrocellulose, which is used to make explosives, FT sources say. They say this has allowed Moscow to quickly ramp up production of critical munitions, including artillery shells.

“These materials fill critical gaps in the Russian defense production cycle. As a result, Russia is ramping up military production on the largest scale since the Soviet Union, and faster than we anticipated when the conflict first began,” an unnamed senior US official told the FT.

The publication’s sources also noted that Russian and Chinese specialists are jointly producing drones in Russia. Beijing is also helping Moscow expand its capabilities in space and providing it with its satellite images.

Former CIA chief China analyst Dennis Wilder notes that the scale of Russian-Chinese military cooperation turned out to be much more serious than previously estimated. In his opinion, new data suggests that the PRC leadership has agreed on an entire program of assistance to Russia in this war. “Russia lost access to vital equipment from Europe early in the conflict, and China took steps to fill the gap,” Wilder said.

The FT notes that after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Washington imposed sanctions on more than a hundred Chinese companies. At the same time, China continues trade cooperation with Europe relatively freely: only three Chinese enterprises were subject to EU sanctions. The United States asks the European Union to more actively use economic instruments to put pressure on China.

There is growing confidence in Beijing that its support for Moscow will not jeopardize economic relations with Brussels. It is important for him to maintain trade cooperation with the European Union, so he will be concerned about any increase in pressure, FT sources say. According to one of the publication’s interlocutors, EU sanctions against China could become a significant reason for reviewing its relations with the Russian Federation.

On April 14, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in China on a visit. As ABC News notes , his trip is related to growing economic tensions between Europe and China, as well as disagreements over the war in Ukraine. Shortly before Scholz left for China, a senior German official told the FT that Berlin was “very concerned” about China supplying Russia with goods that it uses for military purposes.

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