2024-04-23 18:46:20
Washington and its allies are increasingly intolerant of China’s refusal to stop supplying Russia with technology that is helping to rebuild its industrial base, from microchips to cruise missile engines, the FT writes.
Other G7 members have told Washington that they, too, either plan to raise the issue in talks with Chinese officials or have already done so, a US official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
After a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Capri this week, Blinken said China was a major contributor to supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.
And although China, as Bloomberg writes, “has not crossed a red line” and does not directly supply Russia with weapons or ammunition, Blinken plans to warn that Washington and its allies are united in their opposition to Beijing’s role in the war.
The US Secretary of State did not specify what sanctions he had in mind, but as several sources told the FT, the White House is also considering sanctions against Chinese financial institutions.
China, on the other hand, as one of the FT’s sources claims, is increasingly concerned about possible sanctions against its banks.
The US State Department declined to comment.
Blinken’s visit to China is scheduled from Wednesday to Friday.
Last week, several Western media outlets reported, citing US officials, that China is helping Russia build its defense industry by providing drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and equipment, in the most ambitious expansion of military production since the Soviet era.
China’s embassy in Washington has denied supplying weapons to either side of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The FT writes that 90% of the chips Russia imported in 2023 came from China and were used in the production of missiles, tanks and aircraft. In the last quarter of the year, Russia also imported 70% of machine tools from China that were allegedly used in the production of ballistic missiles.
2024-04-23 18:46:20