China has accused the United States of supplying Russia with parts for weapons amid Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A Chinese embassy official suggested to Newsweek that the majority of foreign-made weapon components used by Russia originate in the U.S. or from its Western allies.
It comes after Ukraine claimed that over half of the foreign-made parts in Russian weapons that it found had come from and via China.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told Newsweek those claims were false.
“China does not provide weapons to either side in the conflict and strictly controls dual-use items, which has gained broad recognition from the international community.
AP
“The normal trade between China and Russia is open and aboveboard, in line with WTO rules and market principles, and does not target third parties.
“I have noticed data indicating that over 60% of the weapon components and dual-use items imported by Russia come from Western countries such as the United States. President Zelensky himself has also mentioned this in his remarks,” he said.
Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Department of Defense for comment.
Despite strong ties between Russia and China, Beijing has repeatedly denied supplying weaponry to any party and has said that it was not involved in the Ukraine conflict.
However, Reuters reported that Ukrainian presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk said on Tuesday: “If you take all the usual types of weapons and count the foreign-made components, about 60 percent would be coming from China. We have had lengthy discussions with some manufacturers about this. The PRC (China) is the biggest problem, I would say.”
Mark Ralston/AP
Vlasiuk said that key components used in surveillance systems, drones, and missiles have also come from the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, and other Western nations.
Despite China’s claims to be neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war, there have been repeated accusations that Beijing has supported the Kremlin.
According to U.S. officials, China supplied cruise missile and drone engines and machine tools for ballistic missiles to Russia.
Earlier this month, there were reports of an increase in activity by Russia and China near Alaska.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said in a statement on September 17: “Once again our military has had to respond to activities by our nation’s adversaries. Russian and Chinese incursions into U.S. zones off Alaska have become an increasingly frequent occurrence.”
Sari Arho Havrén, RUSI Associate Fellow told Newsweek both Russia and China have gone to great lengths to “hide the depth of the collaboration and coordination.”
“These claims are in line with the intelligence the US has been providing, and recently the US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell briefed the EU and NATO counterparts about ‘very substantial’ military support that China is providing for Russia, in exchange of Russia providing technologies it formerly was reluctant to share).
“No percentages were given, but personally, I don’t find the claims surprising, as both parties have gone to great lengths to protect and hide the depth of the collaboration and coordination.”
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