US confronts China over its state-owned companies’ ties to Russia’s war efforts

The Biden government clashed with the government of China with evidence suggesting that some Chinese state-owned enterprises they can be provide help for him Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, while trying to find out if Beijing is aware of such activities, according to people familiar with the matter.

The people, who asked not to be named when discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the endorsement except to say it consists of military aid there economical non lethal refrain from evading the sanctions regime imposed by the United States and its allies after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

The trend is disturbing enough that U.S. officials raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts and told them warned of the implications of providing material support for warthe people said, though they declined to give details of those contacts.

President Xi Jinping avoided criticizing Russia for the war, but also offered to play a role in peace talks and opposed the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.

A spokesperson for National Security Council 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 remains under debate, US officials have said they agree that the relationship between Russia there China is now extremely narrow and that China is doing more than before to support Russia.

People familiar with managerial thinking have characterized the activities of state-owned enterprises as knowingly helping Russia in his war effort. They did not specify what evidence the administration might have to support that view.

Management reviews the evidence it has accumulated to determine its significance. The conclusion that Chinese companies supported the invasion would have troubling implications for US policy toward Russia there China.

US strategy on Ukraine hinges in part on isolating government from president Vladimir Poutine and try to choke your economy there 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 determine that the Chinese government is involved or tacitly accepts the actions of these public companies, they would be forced to decide. how far to counterattack. This could open a new field of contention at a time when the United States has tried to balance its desire to stabilize relations with Beijing with measures to limit Chinese access to microchips high-end and take on China for what it sees as a more aggressive stance towards Taiwan.

Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellenmet with Deputy Prime Minister Liu He last week and the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkis due to visit Beijing in February, the first such visit since the Covid-19 outbreak halted travel in early 2020.

Russia and China have declared a relationship without limits before the war and US officials believe China originally intended to sell lethal weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield. But the administration believes China has scaled back that plan and says it is not doing all it can to help Putin’s invasion, the people said.

The administration believes that the Chinese government wants help Russia and is not neutral as she claims, according to people. China has also stepped up trade relations 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 considers this to be a violation of the ruler The United States calls on other countries to restrict trade. In 2022, the Chinese imports from Russia increased by nearly 50% compared to the previous year, while exports increased by 13%.

In China there is thousands of public companies, some controlled directly by the central government with chief executives having the same rank as ministers and others subject to less direct control. All are subject to the influence of the communist partyalthough the details of their operations are not always tightly controlled.

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 the China’s alignment with Russia.

Now what you hear from Beijing is that it claims to be neutral, Blinken said at the time. I would start by saying that it is quite difficult to be neutral in the face of this aggression. There is a clear striker. There is clearly a victim.

End December, Xi and Putin had 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 resolving the Ukraine crisis, even if the path to peace talks would not be easy, according to the television.

However, stepping up support for Moscow would go against recent indications that China is trying to improve relations with the United States after months of growing tensions. After meeting in Bali last year, the President Joe Biden The US and Xi have said a nuclear war should never be fought and oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, White House statement says .

(With information from Bloomberg)

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