Is China's military and financial support for Russia an indisputable reality?

Today's news is marked by the fear of new Russian offensives in Ukraine and by the Chinese desire to flood Western markets with discounted products. But what exactly do we know about the cooperation between these two powers?

Although Beijing refrains from openly supporting the invasion of Ukraine, China nevertheless provides substantial military and financial support to Moscow, allowing its partner to bear the material costs of its war of aggression.

Chinese assistance to Russia has long been suspected but is no longer in doubt. Help from Beijing takes several forms, from the purchase of Russian hydrocarbons targeted by Western sanctions to the supply of electronic components usable for military purposes.

Generally speaking, Russian-Chinese bilateral trade is doing wonderfully: trade between the two countries reached $240 billion in 2023, representing a growth of 26.3% compared to 2022, according to 'Reuters'.

Chinese exports to Russia have soared, making Beijing an essential supplier for a country isolated by sanctions: they increased by 46.9% in 2023 compared to 2022 – and even by 64.2% compared to 2021 , the last year before the war.

Russia's exports to China also experienced sustained, albeit more modest, growth in 2023 (+13%). 'Reuters' reported that, according to Russian authorities, half of that country's exports of oil and petroleum products were sent to China last year.

Still, according to the same source, the Chinese ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui (left in the photo), informed the Russian news agency RIA of his country's intention to develop energy cooperation with Russia in all stages of production.

Long discreet on this point for fear of Western sanctions, China also provides financial support to its Russian partner.

Transactions of major Chinese banks with Russia are officially suspended. But some secondary banks continue their operations through channels that are harder to detect.

Even more worrying than China's financial support for Russia is the military support that Beijing offers to Moscow, while the war still rages in eastern Europe. According to 'The Guardian', China is helping its partner "undertake its biggest military expansion since Soviet times."

chinese military assistance involves the sales of machine tools, microelectronics and other technologies that Moscow uses to produce missiles, tanks, planes, and other weapons for its war against Ukraine", according to a cited US assessment by the British news organization.

In 2023, China provided 90% of Russian imports of microelectronics (decisive for the manufacture of missiles and tanks) and more than 70% of those of machine tools used for the production of ballistic missiles, according to the same media source, figures which revealed the essential nature of the partnership between Beijing and Moscow!

According to a senior American official who remained anonymous, cited by 'The Guardian', China has allowed Russia to revitalize its military industry "which had otherwise suffered significant setbacks" since the start of the war in February 2022.

“We believe that one of the most effective ways we currently have to support Ukraine is to persuade the PRC [People's Republic of China] to stop helping Russia rebuild its military-industrial base,” added this leader.

During his visit to China on April 26, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his “grave concerns” about the fact that Beijing “is giving Russia the opportunity to continue its brutal aggression against Ukraine”, according to comments quoted by 'Asialyst'.

The head of American diplomacy added to his hosts that “guaranteeing transatlantic security represents the heart of American interests. If China doesn’t address these issues, the United States will.”

Beyond just the United States, the foreign ministers of the G7 (which also includes Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy), meet in April in Capri, Italy, to share the position of their American allies.

“We express strong concern about transfers to Russia from Chinese companies of dual-use materials and weapons components that Russia uses to bolster its military production,” the leaders said in a statement cited by 'La Tribune de Genève'.

“This allows Russia to rebuild and revitalize its defense industry, thereby posing a threat to Ukraine and international security and peace,” the ministers of the seven countries added.

The United States has set a red line for China that must not be crossed, namely the direct delivery of weapons to Russia. No transfer weapons has been noted at this stage, despite massive exports of equipment usable by the military industry.

This is not the case for Iran and North Korea, two countries that have openly defied Western sanctions and bans by supplying weapons to Moscow.

However, Beijing's multifaceted economic commitment to its neighbor has confirmed the formation of a united Russian-Chinese axis, illustrating the desire of the two countries to establish a "limitless" partnership.

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