The United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has accused China of providing “substantial” support to Russia to bolster the embattled nation’s military technology while the Ukraine war rages on.
Knewz.com has learned that China has allegedly been actively aiding Moscow with the technology necessary to boost military production.
It is worth noting that the international sanctions placed on Russia were meant to somewhat prevent the development and mass production of the nation’s war capabilities, something the reported Chinese aid can effectively bypass.
The U.S. has long kept a watchful eye on China’s transfer of “dual-use technologies” to Russia, which can have both military and civilian uses.
However, Deputy Secretary of State Campbell has alleged that China is unequivocally providing military technology to Russia, at a time when the nation is battling Ukrainian forces on both sides of the border.
“These are not dual-use capabilities… These are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine,” Campbell said regarding the components China has been sending to Russia lately.
“These are component pieces of a very substantial effort on the part of China to help sustain, build and diversify various elements of the Russian war machine,” Campbell further alleged.
“We’re seeing efforts at the highest levels of both governments to try to both hide and protect certain elements of this worrisome collaboration … Most of these activities have been driven underground.”
It has been reported that, in return for sending military components to Russia, China is receiving secretive military technology regarding submarines and missiles from Vladimir Putin.
Campbell commented in this regard, “The capabilities that Russia is providing is support in areas where previously they had been frankly reluctant to engage directly with China.”
“We are concerned about a particular number of military arenas where there appears to be some determination to provide China with greater support. That has to do with submarine operations, activities of aeronautical design, including stealth; that also involves capacities on missile capabilities.”
He added that the tech received by China would allow the nation to perfect “certain military capabilities,” which could, in turn, spell trouble not only for the U.S. but also for India, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.
It is worth noting that Western military officials alleged earlier in 2024 that China was in the process of developing Shahed-like attack drones for Russia—something that the countries reportedly discussed back in 2023.
While Russia has been using Shahed drones in the Ukraine war since the beginning and has even established a factory to mass-produce the attack drones, the officials expressed concern that China might be able to replicate the technology of Shahed at a much higher rate.
Chinese military websites and several other media outlets reported in July 2024 that the nation is developing a new kamikaze drone named the Sunflower 200, which looks similar to the Shahed 136 drone from Iran.
In a statement to Bloomberg at the time, the anonymous Western officials alleged that China had allegedly begun the development and testing of attack drones meant for Russia.
While China has publicly maintained neutrality in the Ukraine conflict so far, Putin and Xi Jinping’s navy have participated in the largest joint naval drills of the post-Soviet era in the Sea of Japan.
The “Ocean-2024” joint naval exercises, which began on September 10, will involve more than 400 warships, submarines, and support vessels and will last until 16 September, the Defense Ministry of Russia has reported.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian President will be observing the Russia-China joint naval drills from a “situation room in the Kremlin,” it has been reported.
