US questions UK claims that China is providing ‘lethal aid’ to Russia

The US has questioned claims by Britain’s defence secretary that China was providing Russia with “lethal aid” for its war in Ukraine.

Grant Shapps on Wednesday accused China of providing or preparing to provide Russia with “lethal aid” for use by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

“Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,” Shapps told a defence conference in London, adding that the weapons flows were “a significant development”.

But US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington had not observed that China had directly provided weapons to Russia and added that he would speak with UK colleagues to better understand the defence secretary’s comments.

“We have not seen that to date. I look forward to speaking with the UK to make sure that we have a common operating picture,” Sullivan said.

US officials have previously said China had technically not provided direct “lethal” aid, but they stressed Beijing was supplying Russia with technology that was making its way on to the battlefield in Ukraine.

Beijing on Thursday condemned what it said were “baseless and irresponsible statements made by British politicians”.

“We have noted that these comments have not even been acknowledged by their close allies,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, adding that “smearing China” would not “resolve the difficult problems faced within the UK”.

The comments from Shapps appeared to indicate China had potentially pivoted to directly supporting Russia’s military in Ukraine, though he gave no details or evidence. UK defence officials declined to clarify what he meant by “lethal aid”.

“We have to see how material the Chinese assistance may be,” a senior European defence official said. “If it is material, that is bad news for the war in Ukraine — China has a lot of resources.”

Chinese companies have emerged as Russia’s critical conduit for crucial dual-use components and equipment the Kremlin needs to sustain its defence industry, but Beijing has largely shied away from helping Moscow’s war machine directly.

While China has stopped short of backing the invasion, it has given Russia a crucial economic lifeline after western sanctions cut Moscow out of global markets and supply chains.

Shapps said an increase in trade between China and Russia since the start of the invasion showed they had developed a “deeper relationship”.

His comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing last week for talks with China’s leader Xi Jinping.

Putin was accompanied by his new defence minister, Andrei Belousov, and security council chief Sergei Shoigu, who joined him for multiple rounds of talks in China including a closed-door dinner with Xi.

At the start of the Ukraine war, the US believed China was on the cusp of sending lethal aid to Russia but backed off under pressure from Washington. China has denied all the US accusations, claiming its exports were part of normal trade.

Last month, China’s embassy in the US said it had not provided weaponry and it was “not a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis”.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said during a visit to China in late April that there were no signs Beijing was sending weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.

“What China is doing, or what some of its enterprises are doing, is to provide critical components for Russia’s defence industrial base, things like machine tools, microelectronics and optics,” Blinken said.

But the US this month sanctioned Chinese companies including two groups that allegedly supplied Russia with drones, weapons and ammunition, in addition to chips, sensors and other military-related technology.

Elina Ribakova, a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said it was unclear whether Shapps’ comments indicated a genuine shift in Chinese policy to directly supplying weapons.

The comments could reflect Moscow’s success in securing crucial components from China for its defence industry, she said. Chinese companies supplied 60 per cent of Russia’s imports of dual-use high technology goods last year, according to Financial Times analysis of Russian trade data.

“China knows how little visibility the US has on China-Russia trade. It started supplying Russia with parts in the summer of 2022 . . . it’s not surprising they felt empowered,” Ribakova said.

The UK defence ministry declined to comment. The Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment.

Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo in Dublin, Felicia Schwartz in Washington and Wenjie Ding in Beijing