WASHINGTON (AP) – China is rapidly increasing sales of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology to Russia, according to a U.S. assessment, and Russia is selling missiles, tanks, aircraft and other equipment for use in the war against Ukraine. It is said to be used for the production of weapons.
Two senior Biden administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive findings on Friday said that by 2023, about 90% of Russia’s microelectronics will come from China, and that Russia will be used to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. He said he is using it. Of Russia’s approximately $900 million worth of machine tool imports in the final quarter of 2023, nearly 70% came from China.
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Chinese and Russian companies are also working together to produce unmanned aerial vehicles in Russia, and Chinese companies are likely supplying Russia with nitrocellulose, which is used to make ammunition, officials said. . China-based companies Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co., Ltd., and Hikvision provide optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles.
In this photo published by Xinhua News Agency, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 9, 2024. Other technologies that Moscow uses to make missiles, tanks, aircraft, and other weapons. Two senior Biden administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive findings. Russia’s microelectronics come from China, and Russia has used missiles, tanks, and aircraft. (Li Xueren/Xinhua News Agency, via AP)
Officials said Russia has received military optics for use in tanks and armored vehicles manufactured by Chinese companies Airay Technology and the North China Electro-Optical Research Institute, and China is supplying Russia with unmanned aircraft engines and turbojets for cruise missiles. He said he is providing the engine.
Russia’s semiconductor imports from China soared from $200 million in 2021 to more than $500 million in 2022, according to Russian customs data analyzed by the Free Russia Foundation, a group that advocates for the development of civil society.
The Chinese government is also working with Russia to improve satellites and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, and officials say this development will help Russia improve its capabilities across Europe in the long term. It says it could increase the threat. Citing downgraded intelligence findings, officials said the United States had also determined that China was providing images to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
Officials discussed the findings as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit China for talks this month. Blinken is scheduled to attend the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the Italian island of Capri next week, where he will discuss China’s indirect influence on Russia as it seeks to revamp its military and consolidate recent gains in Ukraine. The government is expected to express concerns about the increase in financial aid.
President Joe Biden previously expressed concerns directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping about China’s indirect support of Russia’s war effort.
Although China has not directly provided critical military aid to Russia, it has supported China diplomatically, accusing the West of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to go to war, and has shown respect to the Kremlin. I refrain from calling this an invasion.
China has reiterated that it does not provide arms or military aid to Russia, although it maintains strong economic ties with Russia, along with India and other countries, amid sanctions from Washington and its allies. I’ve said it.
“Normal trade between China and Russia should not be disrupted or restricted,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington. “We urge the US side to refrain from belittling the normal relations between China and Russia or using them as a scapegoat.”
President Xi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing on Tuesday, and Lavrov praised President Xi’s leadership.
Russia has become increasingly economically and diplomatically isolated and increasingly dependent on China, its Cold War rival for leadership of the communist bloc.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who returned to Washington this week from a visit to Beijing, told Chinese officials that the Biden administration is prepared to sanction Chinese banks, companies and Chinese leaders if they support the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine. He said he had warned the people. .
In December, the Democratic president issued an executive order giving Yellen the power to sanction financial institutions that supported Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“We remain concerned about the role that all companies, including Chinese companies, using the initials of the People’s Republic of China, are playing in Russian military procurement,” Yellen told reporters. “I emphasized that companies, including Chinese companies, must not provide material support to Russia’s war effort and face serious consequences if they do. It stressed that any bank that facilitates significant transactions that distribute “Russia” to Russia must not provide materials for Russia’s war effort, putting Russia’s defense industrial base at risk of U.S. sanctions.”
The United States has frequently downgraded and released intelligence findings about Russia’s plans and operations during its more than two-year war with Ukraine.
These efforts may highlight Russia’s plans for a disinformation campaign or draw attention to Russia’s difficulties in waging war against Ukraine or cooperating with Iran and North Korea to supply desperately needed weapons. is focused on. Last year, Mr. Blinken highlighted intelligence indicating that China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia.
The White House believes that the public release of the intelligence community’s findings has led China to refrain from directly providing arms to Russia, at least for now. China’s economy has also been slow to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese officials may be sensitive to the reaction of European capital, which has maintained close ties with Beijing even as U.S.-China relations become more complicated.
Meanwhile, China on Thursday announced unprecedented sanctions against two U.S. defense companies for allegedly helping sell arms to Taiwan. Taiwan is an autonomous territory and a democratic nation, and Beijing claims it is its own territory, which should be recovered by force if necessary.
As a result of this announcement, the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held in China will be frozen. Business executives will also be prohibited from entering the country.
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According to filings, General Dynamics operates six Gulfstream and jet aviation services businesses in China and remains largely uninterested in foreign aerospace technology even as it seeks to establish its own presence in the field. It depends a lot.
The company is also helping build the Abrams tanks that Taiwan is buying to replace outdated armor intended to deter or resist invasion from China.
General Atomics manufactures the Predator and Reaper drones used by the U.S. military.
