WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has confronted the Chinese government with evidence suggesting that some Chinese state-owned companies may be providing assistance to the Russian war effort in Ukraine, as it tries to determine whether Beijing knows about these activities, according to people familiar with the matter. .
The people, who asked not to be identified while discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the support except to say it is non-lethal military and economic assistance that stops before a full breakout from the sanctions regime that the United States and its allies imposed after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The trend is worrying enough that U.S. officials raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts and warned of the implications of providing material support for the war, the people said, though they declined to comment. provide details of these contacts. President Xi Jinping has avoided criticizing Russia over the war, but has also offered to play a role in peace talks and oppose the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.
A National Security Council spokeswoman declined to comment, as did the Central Intelligence Agency. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to two emails seeking comment. Although the information is unclear and subject to debate, US officials said they agree that Russian-Chinese relations are extremely close now and that China is doing more than it takes. once did to support Russia.
People familiar with the administration’s thinking have characterized the activities of state-owned companies as knowingly aiding Russia in its war effort. They did not specify what evidence the administration might have to support that view.
The administration examines the accumulated evidence to determine its significance. A finding that Chinese companies supported the invasion would have troubling implications for US policy toward Russia and China.
The US strategy vis-à-vis Ukraine rests in part on isolating the government of President Vladimir Putin and trying to stifle its economy and hamper the war effort. Increased support from China, the world’s second largest economy, could significantly undermine this strategy.
And if Biden and his advisers determined that the Chinese government was involved or tacitly accepted the actions of these state-owned companies, they would be forced to decide how much to push back. This could risk opening up a whole new area of dispute at a time when the United States has sought to balance its desire for a stabilized relationship with Beijing against measures to limit Chinese access to high-end microchips and confront the China on what it sees as a more aggressive stance. to Taiwan.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Deputy Prime Minister Liu He last week and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Beijing in February, the first such visit since the Covid-19 outbreak. halted travel in early 2020.
Russia and China declared a “limitless” relationship before the war, and US officials believe China originally intended to sell lethal weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield. But the administration considers China to have scaled back that plan and maintains that it is not doing all it could to help Putin’s invasion, the people said.
The administration believes the Chinese government wants to help Russia and is not neutral as it claims, according to the people. China has also deepened its trade ties despite US demands for other nations to distance themselves from the Russian economy.
China rejects in principle any sanctions other than those agreed at the United Nations and views US calls on other countries to restrict trade as a violation of sovereignty. Chinese imports from Russia increased by nearly 50% year-on-year in 2022, while exports increased by 13%.
There are thousands of state-owned enterprises in China, some directly controlled by the central government with general managers who have the same rank as ministers and others who are subject to less direct supervision. All are subject to Communist Party influence, though the details of their operations are not always followed in detail.
The trend would only exacerbate what US officials have publicly declared to be a problem. After meeting with a senior Chinese official in July, Blinken said he raised concerns about “China’s alignment with Russia.”
“Now what you hear from Beijing is that they claim to be neutral,” Blinken said at the time. “I would start with the proposition that it is quite difficult to be neutral in the face of this aggression. There is clearly an aggressor. There is clearly a victim.
In late December, Xi and Putin held a phone call in which they agreed to cooperate in trade, energy, finance and agriculture, according to Chinese state television. Xi told Putin that Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in seeking a resolution to the Ukraine “crisis”, although the road to peace talks was not easy, the broadcaster said.
Still, deep support for Moscow would run counter to recent indications that China is trying to improve relations with the United States after months of heightened tension. After meeting in Bali last year, President Joe Biden and Xi said “nuclear war should never be fought” and oppose “the use or threat of use nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” the White House statement said.
The people, who asked not to be identified while discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the support except to say it is non-lethal military and economic assistance that stops before a full breakout from the sanctions regime that the United States and its allies imposed after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The trend is worrying enough that U.S. officials raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts and warned of the implications of providing material support for the war, the people said, though they declined to comment. provide details of these contacts. President Xi Jinping has avoided criticizing Russia over the war, but has also offered to play a role in peace talks and oppose the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.
A National Security Council spokeswoman declined to comment, as did the Central Intelligence Agency. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to two emails seeking comment. Although the information is unclear and subject to debate, US officials said they agree that Russian-Chinese relations are extremely close now and that China is doing more than it takes. once did to support Russia.
People familiar with the administration’s thinking have characterized the activities of state-owned companies as knowingly aiding Russia in its war effort. They did not specify what evidence the administration might have to support that view.
The administration examines the accumulated evidence to determine its significance. A finding that Chinese companies supported the invasion would have troubling implications for US policy toward Russia and China.
The US strategy vis-à-vis Ukraine rests in part on isolating the government of President Vladimir Putin and trying to stifle its economy and hamper the war effort. Increased support from China, the world’s second largest economy, could significantly undermine this strategy.
And if Biden and his advisers determined that the Chinese government was involved or tacitly accepted the actions of these state-owned companies, they would be forced to decide how much to push back. This could risk opening up a whole new area of dispute at a time when the United States has sought to balance its desire for a stabilized relationship with Beijing against measures to limit Chinese access to high-end microchips and confront the China on what it sees as a more aggressive stance. to Taiwan.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Deputy Prime Minister Liu He last week and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Beijing in February, the first such visit since the Covid-19 outbreak. halted travel in early 2020.
Russia and China declared a “limitless” relationship before the war, and US officials believe China originally intended to sell lethal weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield. But the administration considers China to have scaled back that plan and maintains that it is not doing all it could to help Putin’s invasion, the people said.
The administration believes the Chinese government wants to help Russia and is not neutral as it claims, according to the people. China has also deepened its trade ties despite US demands for other nations to distance themselves from the Russian economy.
China rejects in principle any sanctions other than those agreed at the United Nations and views US calls on other countries to restrict trade as a violation of sovereignty. Chinese imports from Russia increased by nearly 50% year-on-year in 2022, while exports increased by 13%.
There are thousands of state-owned enterprises in China, some directly controlled by the central government with general managers who have the same rank as ministers and others who are subject to less direct supervision. All are subject to Communist Party influence, though the details of their operations are not always followed in detail.
The trend would only exacerbate what US officials have publicly declared to be a problem. After meeting with a senior Chinese official in July, Blinken said he raised concerns about “China’s alignment with Russia.”
“Now what you hear from Beijing is that they claim to be neutral,” Blinken said at the time. “I would start with the proposition that it is quite difficult to be neutral in the face of this aggression. There is clearly an aggressor. There is clearly a victim.
In late December, Xi and Putin held a phone call in which they agreed to cooperate in trade, energy, finance and agriculture, according to Chinese state television. Xi told Putin that Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in seeking a resolution to the Ukraine “crisis”, although the road to peace talks was not easy, the broadcaster said.
Still, deep support for Moscow would run counter to recent indications that China is trying to improve relations with the United States after months of heightened tension. After meeting in Bali last year, President Joe Biden and Xi said “nuclear war should never be fought” and oppose “the use or threat of use nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” the White House statement said.
