China is helping Russia in its largest military expansion since the Soviet era, U.S. officials said on Friday, ramping up public pressure as concerns over Ukraine grow.
U.S. officials hope the release of the intelligence will encourage European allies to pressure China, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveling to Beijing this weekend and G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy next week.
Unveiling the findings of the U.S. investigation, officials said China was helping Russia in a range of areas, including joint production of drones, space-based capabilities and the export of machine tools critical for the production of ballistic missiles.
A senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said China has been a key factor in revitalizing Russia’s defense industrial base, which has “suffered major setbacks in other areas” since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Russia is embarking on its most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era, and the timeline is faster than we thought early in this conflict,” the official said.
“We believe one of the most game-changing steps we can take to support Ukraine right now is to convince China to stop helping Russia rebuild its military-industrial base,” the official said.
“Russia will have difficulty sustaining its war effort without China’s input,” he said.
U.S. officials said that more than 70% of the $900 million worth of machine tools imported by Russia in the last quarter of 2023, which may be used to build ballistic missiles, were provided by China.
U.S. officials also said that 90% of the microelectronics imported by Russia last year for the production of missiles, tanks and aircraft came from China.
China takes the right path
The United States has repeatedly warned China not to support Russia, and both Chinese and American officials have said that Beijing has stopped supplying weapons directly to Russia and that Russia has turned to North Korea and Iran, which are under severe sanctions, to replenish arms supplies.
U.S. officials believe China was anxious about its Russian ally’s early setbacks on the battlefield and instead focused on sending materials with ostensibly non-military uses.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hopes European powers can play a role in persuading China, which faces economic headwinds and is sensitive to trade pressure.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to elaborate on China’s relationship with Russia when he meets top diplomats from other industrial democracies at the Group of Seven summit in Capri, Italy.
Blinken also plans to visit China in the coming weeks, following a visit by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The administration hopes such conversations, including a recent phone call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, can help contain tensions between the world’s two largest economies, but U.S. officials have stressed they will still highlight concerns.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said this week that stability in Europe is America’s primary interest in history and that the U.S. will hold China accountable if Russia makes advances.
Ukraine suffered its first battlefield setback in months as its troops rationed ammunition, while the United States failed to authorize new support amid a deadlock in the Republican-led House of Representatives.
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