China and Russia getting closer in Russia Ukraine War. According to a U.S. official, the United States notified NATO and several Asian nations that China had indicated an intention to provide military and economic assistance to Russia at Moscow’s request.
According to a high-ranking official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, China was forewarned in a diplomatic cable and handed personally by intelligence agents that it would not be allowed to execute those plans.
Following a warning from the U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan was meeting with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome, where he said that if China assisted Russia in evading Western sanctions, it would face consequences. According to media reports, Russia had asked China for military equipment as well as missiles and drones.
The claims were denied by the Russian government, which said it has enough military resources to achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine. The foreign ministry spokesperson for China dismissed the stories as “fake news.”
Russia asked China for military and economic aid
Russia Ukraine War: China&Russia relationship
On February 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. The claim is regarded by Western allies and Ukraine as a pretext for an aggressive military campaign.
The official said that the public disclosure of both Russia’s request and China’s response is part of a deliberate strategy by U.S. officials to combat propaganda by being considerably more open about intelligence activities than usual.
According to an official, the demarche was ambiguous about China’s intention to provide weapons to Russia, but intelligence officials were expected to offer more specifics during in-person briefings.
On Sunday, a State Department spokesperson stated that the US was keeping an eye on how far China went in terms of economic or material assistance to Russia.
“We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them. We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”
-Sullivan
