China is helping Russia carry out its biggest military expansion since the Soviet era, by boosting sales of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow uses to produce missiles, tanks, planes and other weapons for its war against Ukraine, according to a US assessment.
American officials hope that publishing this information will encourage European allies to put pressure on China, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Beijing this weekend and G7 foreign ministers meet next week in Italy.
Announcing the US findings, the officials said China was helping Russia produce drones, space capabilities and exports vital machine tools for ballistic missile production.
China has been the main factor in revitalizing Russia's defense industrial base, which “has suffered major setbacks” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“Russia is undertaking its most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era and on a faster timeline than we thought possible early in this conflict,” the official said.
“Our view is that one of the most effective moves available to us at this time to support Ukraine is to persuade the People's Republic of China [People’s Republic of China] “Stop helping Russia rebuild its military industrial base,” the official said.
“Russia will struggle to continue its war effort without the input of the People’s Republic of China,” he said.
US officials said China provided more than 70% of the $900m (£723m) worth of machine tools – possibly used to build ballistic missiles – that Russia imported in the last quarter of 2023.
They also said that 90% of Russia's imports of microelectronics – used to produce missiles, tanks and aircraft – came from China last year.
The United States has repeatedly warned China against supporting Russia, and Chinese and American officials say that Beijing has stopped short of directly providing weapons to Russia, which has turned to North Korea and Iran, which are subject to severe sanctions, to replenish its arms supplies.
US officials believe that China, concerned about early setbacks suffered by its Russian allies on the battlefield, has instead focused on sending materials with ostensibly non-military uses.
President Joe Biden's administration hopes European powers can make a difference with China, which faces economic headwinds and is sensitive about trade pressures.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to address China's relations with Russia as he meets with senior diplomats from other industrialized democracies at the G7 talks in Capri, Italy.
Blinken also plans to visit China in the coming weeks, following a visit by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The administration hopes that such dialogue, including the recent phone call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, will help contain tensions between the world's two largest economies, but US officials have stressed that they will continue to press concerns.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said this week that European stability has been a top concern historically for the United States, and that it would hold China responsible if Russia made gains.
Also on Friday, the US and UK blocked metals trading exchanges from accepting new aluminium, copper and nickel produced by Russia, and blocked imports of the metals in the latest attempt to disrupt Russian export revenues.
The US Treasury Department said Friday's action would prevent the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from accepting new Russian production of aluminium, copper and nickel.
“Metal exchanges play a central role in facilitating trade in industrial metals around the world,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
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