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The United States has warned of “significant consequences” if Chinese companies lend support to Moscow’s war against Ukraine in one of the sharpest messages ever sent to Beijing.
After talks in Guangzhou on Friday and Saturday, the US Treasury said: “Secretary Yellen stressed that companies, including those from the PRC, should not provide material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. . . and the significant consequences if they did so.”
Yellen’s warning comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told EU and NATO foreign ministers that Beijing is assisting Moscow “on a worrying scale” and providing “tools, inputs and technical expertise,” according to three people who are familiar with the discussions.
They quoted Blinken as saying the assistance was particularly focused on Russia’s production of optical equipment and propellants and its space sector, which he said “not only contributes to Russian aggression in Ukraine but threatens other countries.”
Blinken expressed concerns about China at each session of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, one person said.
“The warnings were explicit,” the person said. “There was a change and you could feel it in the room. . . this was a new development. It was really surprising.”
Western countries have imposed dozens of sanctions and trade embargoes against Russia in a bid to cripple its economy, deprive it of military supplies and halt its two-year war against Ukraine.
But Moscow has been able to keep its economy functioning and expand its defense industry thanks in large part to expanding trade with China, imports from third countries of so-called dual-use goods that can be used to manufacturing weapons and direct military supplies. from North Korea and Iran.
Russia’s ability to dramatically increase weapons production, particularly of artillery shells, missiles and kamikaze drones, has spooked Western capitals as they rush to increase their own defense production to give Kiev a chance to withstand the onslaught of Moscow.
Blinken, who held talks in Paris this week before attending NATO ministerial discussions and was due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, called on allies to do three things, the people said.
He asked them to raise their concerns directly with China in their bilateral meetings, to speak publicly about deepening cooperation, and to take appropriate actions towards entities and companies that strengthen Russia’s industrial base.
“We see how China is supporting the Russian war economy by providing dual-capacity equipment that is also used in the Russian military industry. In exchange, Moscow mortgages its future to Beijing,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday after talks with Blinken.
President Joe Biden raised the issue directly with President Xi Jinping in a phone call on Tuesday. The White House said Biden expressed concern about China’s “support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security.”
Speaking before the call, a senior U.S. official said Washington saw China “starting to help rebuild Russia’s defense industrial base, essentially filling the trade of European partners.” A person familiar with the situation said the Biden administration is particularly concerned about the supply of rocket fuel.
US officials said strong warnings issued to China soon after Russia’s invasion in 2022 prompted Beijing to reverse course on a plan to supply military equipment to Russia.
The United States raised concerns to allies about Chinese assistance to Russia’s defense sector in February last year, but was met with more skepticism, with some countries saying they had received no concrete evidence.
China’s trade with Russia has more than doubled since 2020, rising from $108 billion to $240 billion last year, with businesspeople flocking across their mutual borders to explore opportunities following the Western sanctions.
Beijing maintains that it does not provide lethal support to Russia and that it is the West that is “adding fuel to the fire” of the conflict.
But the United States and its allies accuse China of providing tacit support, with Xi and Chinese ministers meeting with Russian counterparts dozens of times since the full-scale invasion.
Chinese academics, meanwhile, are poring over Moscow’s response to sanctions for suggestions on how to deal with Beijing and the West in a conflict over Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing