China is helping Russia carry out its biggest defense expansion since Soviet times, US officials said.
US officials hope the intelligence release will encourage European allies to pressure China as Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Beijing this weekend and Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meet next a week in Italy.
Unveiling the US findings, the officials said China was helping Russia in a number of areas, including joint production of unmanned aerial vehicles, space capabilities and exports of metalworking machinery vital to the production of ballistic missiles.
China is a key factor in reviving Russia's defense industrial base, "which had otherwise suffered significant setbacks" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Russia is undertaking its most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era, and at a faster time than we thought possible at the start of this conflict. It is our view that one of the most game-changing moves at our disposal right now , to support Ukraine is to convince the PRC to stop helping Russia rebuild its military industrial base," the official explained, referring to the People's Republic of China.
"Russia would hardly be able to sustain its military efforts without the help of the PRC," he stressed.
According to US data, China provided more than 70% of the $900 million in metalworking machinery - possibly used to create ballistic missiles - imported in the last quarter of 2023 from Russia. 90 percent of Russia's imports of microelectronics used to make missiles, tanks and planes came from China last year.
China is walking a fine line
The United States has repeatedly warned China not to support Russia, and Chinese and US officials say Beijing has stopped providing weapons directly to Russia, which has turned to heavily sanctioned North Korea and Iran to supplement its arms supplies.
U.S. officials believe that China, alarmed by its Russian allies' first setbacks on the battlefield, has instead focused on sending materials that ostensibly have non-military uses.
President Joe Biden's administration hopes European powers can make the difference in persuading China, which faces economic headwinds and is sensitive to trade pressures.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to make a case for China's ties with Russia as he meets top diplomats from other industrialized democracies at G7 talks in Capri, Italy.
Blinken is also planning a visit to China in the coming weeks, along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's trip.
The administration hopes such dialogue, including a recent phone call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, can help ease tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said this week that Europe's stability is the most important interest historically for the United States and that it will hold China accountable if Russia succeeds.
Ukraine has suffered its first major battlefield losses in months as its forces are "starved" of ammunition and the US has been unable to release major new aid amid deadlock in the Republican-led House of Representatives. /BGNES
