According to US estimates, China has increased sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technologies that Moscow uses to produce missiles, tanks, planes and other weapons used in the war against Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Two senior Biden administration officials, who spoke about the sensitive findings on condition of anonymity, said that in 2023, about 90 percent of the Russian microelectronics that the country used to make missiles, tanks and planes came from from China. Nearly 70 percent of Russia's machine tool imports worth an estimated $900 million in the last quarter of 2023 also came from China.
Chinese and Russian entities are working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian territory, and Chinese companies are likely to provide Russia with nitrocellulose needed for the production of missile weapons, the officials said.
China-based companies Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Co., Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co. Ltd. and Hikvision provide optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles.
Officials said Russia has received military optics for use in tanks and armored vehicles made by Chinese firms iRay Technology and the North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics, and that China is providing Russia with drone engines and turbojet engines for cruise missiles.
China's semiconductor imports to Russia have jumped 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 the development of civil society.
Beijing is also working with Russia to improve its satellite and other space capabilities for use in Ukraine, a development that officials say could in the long run increase the threat Russia poses across Europe. Citing intelligence, the officials say the US has determined that China is providing Russia with images of its war against Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks. Previously, President Joe Biden had expressed directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping his concerns about Beijing indirectly supporting Russia's military efforts.
Although China has not provided direct lethal military support to Russia, Beijing has backed it diplomatically, accusing the West of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to go to war. China also refrained from calling the war an “invasion” as a sign of respect for the Kremlin, AP notes.
China has said it does not provide Russia with weapons or military aid, although it maintains strong economic ties with Moscow, as well as with India and other countries, amid sanctions from Washington and its allies.
On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping met in Beijing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who praised Xi's leadership, the agency recalls.