US, EU raise alarm over China’s ‘very substantial’ support for Russia in Ukraine war

The United States and European Union have voiced renewed concerns over China's "very substantial" support for Russia's military, warning the assistance was allowing the Kremlin to keep waging war against Ukraine and threatened global security.

The allegations followed the latest instalment of the US-EU dialogue on China and high-level consultations on the Indo-Pacific held this week in Brussels.

In their joint statement, American and EU officials cited "China's ongoing support for Russia's military and industrial base" through "exports of significant amounts of dual-use goods and items used ... on the battlefield against Ukraine."

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

After the high-level meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters that China was providing direct assistance to "sustain, build and diversify various elements of the Russian war machine".

"These are not dual-use capabilities," Campbell said, according to Politico. "These are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine."

Moscow was reciprocating by sharing sensitive military technologies with Beijing, he added, including those related to submarine operations, stealth aircraft design and missile capabilities.

The exchange posed risks not only for the US but also for countries like Australia, India, Japan and South Korea, Campbell continued, "if China was able to receive greater engagement from Russia in perfecting certain military capabilities".

America's No 2 diplomat asserted that efforts to conceal this cooperation were being made "at the highest levels of both governments".

The developments out of Brussels coincided with a strategic dialogue this week between the US and Britain stressing unity towards China. In the talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London.

Meanwhile, Campbell and Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European External Action Service - the EU's diplomatic corps - urged Beijing to uphold international law, touching on tensions in the East and South China seas.

The two drew attention to recent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the highly disputed South China Sea.

Both said China's actions there "endanger the safety of life at sea and infringe upon freedom of navigation".

"The principals recalled ... that there is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea and emphasised ... the vital importance of all states remaining free to exercise their rights and freedoms consistent with this international legal framework," they noted.

Separately in Washington, bipartisan calls for more action to thwart China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine emanated from Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

That was one among many Beijing-related concerns articulated by Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs committee's subgroup on Europe.

"Chinese troops may not be on the ground fighting alongside Russians, but China's aid to Russia's defence industrial base is undoubtedly enabling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's genocidal war of aggression to continue," said New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jnr, the subcommittee's chairman.

"This war is the greatest threat to the continent's security since the fall of the Berlin Wall and many in Europe are deeply concerned that China has been aiding and abetting it for over two years."

Citing Campbell's contention that Russia has been giving China advanced submarine and missile technologies in exchange for material boosting the Kremlin's military production, Massachusetts Democrat William Keating issued a similar warning.

"Despite China's geographical distance, which many European leaders use to turn a blind eye to Beijing's actions, the People's Republic of China ... poses a direct and pressing threat to European security today," said Keating, the panel's ranking member.

"As Ukraine defends its freedom from Russian aggression, the Chinese government has become a ... decisive enabler of Russia's illegal war."

Witnesses at Wednesday's hearing sounded alarms about Beijing's success in building ties with Hungary, Serbia and other eastern European countries, which they said has become an increasing threat to the transatlantic alliance that restrains Moscow.

"The PRC is seeding the ground for the next great war in Europe," Peter Rough of the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told the subcommittee members.

"Europeans should make clear to Beijing that continued support for Russia, including in the supply of strategic dual-use items, will negatively impact all aspects of Sino-European relations."

Ivana Karaskova of the Czech-based Association for International Affairs testified that China's economic enticements had left Europe's policies towards Beijing "fragmented".

"While some European countries like Lithuania and the Czech Republic have adopted more confrontational stances, others such as Germany and France are more hesitant due to significant economic ties and reliance on trade with China," said Karaskova.

"There are also outliers ... Serbia, Hungary and also Slovakia," she added. "The risk is that such outlier countries may influence others, especially in central and eastern Europe, where the temptation to secure future economic deals with China remains very strong. As a result, Europe's collective response to China is fragmented."

Washington and Brussels further highlighted the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, describing the goal as "indispensable to international security and stability".

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Campbell and Sannino called on China to exercise restraint and stated their opposition to any unilateral attempts to alter the status quo.

In addition, the American and EU officials addressed the human-rights situation in China.

They urged action against abuses in the Tibet autonomous region as well as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, calling on Beijing to cooperate with UN rights mechanisms and release those arbitrarily detained.

Vowing to confront China's "transnational repression" and conveying concern about dwindling freedoms in Hong Kong, they noted the recent implementation of Article 23 of the city's Basic Law, or its mini-constitution, which prohibits acts that could endanger national security such as treason, secession and sedition.

The Chinese embassy on Wednesday rejected the accusations levelled by the US and EU, saying Beijing was not involved in the Ukraine crisis and was not supplying weapons to the parties to the conflict.

Western countries were the main suppliers of military components to Russia, it claimed, with over 60 per cent of imported items coming from the US and its allies.

Liu Pengyu, the embassy's spokesperson, also dismissed allegations of human-rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, instead pointing to "remarkable" social and economic development in the regions.

As for Taiwan, the embassy described it as "an inalienable part of China" and accused the US and separatist forces on the island of trying to "change the status quo".

On the South China Sea, it defended Beijing's claims as "consistent with international law".

The next round of US-EU talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region is scheduled to take place in Washington during the first half of 2025.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. (South China Morning Post)